‘We have to get rid of it’: Myrtle Beach mayor reacts to back-to-back weekend shootings
Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune said she is angered and saddened that for the second consecutive weekend rival gang members decided to make the city their war zone.
“It’s another situation very similar to what we had last weekend, where these were two rival gangs who brought their dispute into Myrtle Beach to finish fighting it out,” Bethune said in a livestream by TV station WBTW on Sunday afternoon in reference to an early Sunday morning shooting that left several people injured..
The shooting took place near Ocean Boulevard and 12th Avenue North. Bethune said shots rang out at 12:35 a.m. and police were on scene in nine seconds.
Still, several were left injured for the second weekend in a row because of what Bethune described as “just a few bad apples who want to bring their gangs and their trouble to our area.” Myrtle Beach police stated Sunday afternoon that six people who were detained shortly after the incident are in custody and their names will be released after formal charges are announced.
MPBD also announced that four people suffered gunshot wounds in the incident but are expected to recover.
Then, early Monday morning there was another shooting that left a Greenwood man dead, a third such incident that Bethune said was the act of gang violence from outside the area.
“We will work with our counterparts across the state to address these issues and we will take swift and immediate action to protect us from these evil acts,” Bethune told The Sun News on Monday.
Last Sunday, several people were injured in a shooting in the 1100 block of North Ocean Boulevard, leading to seven people being charged in connection to the incident.
“What I really saw today after analyzing and reviewing the video from last night is that the people who committed the crime early this morning had absolutely no regard for police presence whatsoever,” Bethune said, adding that the suspects also had no respect for human life.
Bethune said she, Myrtle Beach Police Chief Amy Prock and others in the city government are still analyzing data from the incident while saying the city will announce a plan to combat the violence. She did not share many details of the plan, saying it was still being discussed, but said it will a take collective effort within the community. Bethune said the incidents will be addressed at a city council meeting Tuesday that will include an executive session.
“It’s very concerning. It angers me. It saddens me,” she said of the incidents. “I’m very passionate about our community and I believe in our community. I know we are strong. I know we have so many great things to offer.
“We’re not going to let this affect us. We’re going to fight for it. We’re going to be tough and we’re going to take action because we can’t afford not to.”
Bethune said some of the suspects were staying at one particular hotel, “just as they did last weekend,” while adding that others were day-trippers.
“They came for a very specific purpose,” she said.
Bethune said it was “scary” that criminals would commit such acts, especially considering the heavier police presence on hand because of Memorial Day weekend. She also said that while this happened in Myrtle Beach it is something that can happen anywhere.
“We can’t predict these things. We don’t know what the mindset is of people. There’s no way to stop certain people from coming into the community. This is America,” she said. “We’re doing the best we can. We’re going to do much more and be tougher moving forward because we have to.
“We are all of the mindset of we are going to fight for our community and we are going to address this issue head on.”
Bethune said that before the incident the holiday weekend in Myrtle Beach was a calm environment in which families were having fun while also doing a good job of social distancing, with many wearing masks, due to the ongoing threat of the coronavirus.
“It clearly was two gangs who had a dispute with each other. The crowds that are here are good. They were here for the right reasons,” Bethune said. “It’s just a sad shame that just a few people chose to make this whole weekend tarnished.
“They are not the family image that we want. They are detracting from what we have and we have to get rid of it.”
This story was originally published May 24, 2020 at 4:56 PM.
