‘Am I gonna die?’ NC teen said Myrtle Beach Police officer shot her during mass shooting
A 15-year-old said that she was shot by a Myrtle Beach Police officer during a mass shooting that happened along North Ocean Boulevard and that she didn’t see the alleged shooter fire his gun first.
Serenity Chavis said during a press conference Wednesday outside the Myrtle Beach Police station on Oak Street that one of the officers who responded to the incident shot her in the leg the night of the April 26 shooting.
Myrtle Beach Police have not contacted her or her family regarding the shooting, she said. Chavis does not know the name of the officer who shot her.
“This is an active investigation being led by SLED. As the facts about this incident become available from SLED, we will share them with our community,” said Myrtle Beach Police spokesperson Randolph Angotti in a text message Wednesday to The Sun News.
The North Carolina teen said she was walking the strip with friends and family the night of April 26 when she heard gunshots. She tried to run away when a bullet hit her leg. She didn’t feel the projectile but said she lost control of her leg and tried to crawl away while calling for help.
“The (officer) that shot me stood in front of me and told me that he was sorry. He just kept saying sorry, and I just kept saying, ‘Please help me,’” Chavis said. “I asked, ‘Am I gonna die?’”
On April 26, a shooting in downtown Myrtle Beach resulted in a person being shot and killed by a police officer and 11 others, including Chavis, being injured.
Myrtle Beach Police and the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division said a Myrtle Beach police officer shot Jerrius Davis, 18, of Bennettsville, after he allegedly fired his gun along North Ocean Boulevard near Ripley’s Mirror Maze.
Chavis said she doesn’t remember seeing Davis shoot his gun, despite that being the main police narrative.
“The boy was running behind me; he wasn’t shooting. The police was telling him to drop his gun, but he wasn’t shooting, and they just started shooting, and they hit him first,” Chavis said.
John C. Barnett, a civil rights activist, said a 13-year-old boy from Virginia was also hit with a bullet during the shooting. At least one shooting victim remains in the hospital in critical condition.
Chavis was hit in the leg, had to undergo surgery for over seven hours, and stayed in the hospital for five days, her mother Kendra Malloy said. She is expected to use a wheelchair for six months.
Since April 26, Myrtle Beach Police have released little information. The agency has not shared the names of the officers involved in the shooting, any body-worn-camera or security footage or many details on the 11 people injured.
At an earlier press conference, Myrtle Beach police Chief Amy Prock said the 11 people injured ranged in age from 13 to 43 and some had critical injuries. It’s unclear how many people were shot in the incident.
Malloy and Barnett called for the Myrtle Beach Police Department to release information from the shooting, specifically asking for an incident report.
“No one’s releasing a basic police report, even if it’s a skeleton police report. So I’m upset at Myrtle Beach, why not be transparent?” Barnett said.
Myrtle Beach officials, including Mayor Brenda Bethune, and spokespeople Meredith Denari and Randolph Angotti, have continued to state Myrtle Beach is a safe community, despite employees who work at boardwalk businesses disagreeing.
Multiple people who work at stores near the Myrtle Beach boardwalk said the area can feel dangerous on weekend nights, The Sun News reported.
In the past 10 years, there have been several deadly shootings in Myrtle Beach’s tourism center.
Editor’s note: This story is being updated to correct John C. Barnett’s title.. (Updated 6:10 p.m. May 7, 2025)
This story was originally published May 7, 2025 at 4:26 PM.
