Myrtle Beach City Council makes decision on curfew in wake of violent crime
A new curfew prohibiting teenagers in downtown Myrtle Beach alone after 9 p.m. is now permanent.
An amended curfew was first implemented under an executive order from City Manager Fox Simons ahead of a second reading of the new permanent curfew at city council. The temporary curfew has already been in place for the past two weekends.
City council unanimously passed the new curfew ordinance during their meeting on Tuesday morning.
Assistant city manager Josh Bruegger said during Tuesday’s meeting that he was only aware of one negative email sent to the dear city council email address that was against the new curfew.
“I have heard nothing but positive comments from members of the business community that have contacted me,” Mayor Pro Tem Mike Lowder said at the meeting.
Both Bruegger and Councilman Bill McClure noted that this is one step in the solution for Myrtle Beach, and that more conversations will take place in the future.
The new curfew is specifically for Myrtle Beach’s Central Business District.
The announcement of an initial new curfew with earlier hours came just days after the third shooting along Myrtle Beach’s Ocean Boulevard in recent months. The shooting killed 18-year-old Grayson Meyers, a Myrtle Beach resident, after police say he engaged in a verbal altercation with Peaches Corner employee Evony McCray, 17, in the restaurant.
Another shooting in April in the 900 block of North Ocean Boulevard injured 11 people, and involved a Myrtle Beach Police officer who shot and killed 18-year-old Jerrius Davis who drew his weapon and fired into the crowd.
Earlier last month, another shooting near Peaches Corner left one person injured from a gunshot.
Myrtle Beach follows Charleston in establishing an updated youth curfew this summer, according to previous Sun News reporting.
After the new curfew over July Fourth weekend, thirty juvenile warnings were issued “which included reuniting minors with their family members and escorting minors back to their hotels,” according to a previous email from Myrtle Beach Police Lt. Allen Amick to The Sun News.
According to Amick, there have been no juvenile summons since the executive orders and “over 150 juvenile warnings.” He wrote that no parents or guardians have been cited.
This story was originally published July 22, 2025 at 10:41 AM.
