After an outpouring of negative media onslaught by international media, national media, and TikTok, Mayor Bethune held a press conference with Myrtle Beach Police Chief Amy Prock to address the recent Saturday shooting.
Prock stated the victims injured in last Saturday’s Ocean Boulevard mass shooting ranged from 14 years old to 43 years old. “Random acts of violence, such as the Saturday shooting, do not deter us from protecting our community,” said Myrtle Beach Police Chief Amy Prock.
In reference to comments that the Myrtle Beach Mayor would make in her closing about low rent hotels and area merchants, Prock stated “Public safety is a shared responsibility.” Prock admitted that the MBPD was down 50 officers from full employment at this time. She added they constantly worked with outside agencies and were always recruiting.
Prock declined to confirm whether all of the injured individuals were shot and mentioned that SLED would be the one releasing that information.
Understanding the Impact of the Saturday Shooting
Mayor Bethune is running for re-election this Fall. She planned to make public safety the center piece of her campaign message. The Saturday Shooting has impacted that message.
Prock stated that the Saturday shooting video serves as evidence, which is why MBPD is withholding its release. The officers’ names linked to the incident have not been disclosed. Police Chief Prock of MBPD mentioned that the city will address these inquiries in the future.
Prock also declined to disclose who shot whom at this point. No mention was made as to whether tourists were shot by friendly fire.
“I think when you look at the numbers of people going down there (on ocean boulevard) compared to the crime numbers, the area is very safe,” said Bethune. Mayor Bethune inferred that all 20 million visitors to the Grand Strand annually visit Ocean Boulevard. Those numbers are statistically untrue.
Tourists, who more frequently visit nearby beach towns, rarely go into downtown Myrtle Beach.
The tone of the message over the weekend shifted today. Said Bethune, four days after the shooting, about her previous tone “Quite simply, we didn’t have all of the information on Sunday.” “We’ve learned from this,” said Bethune.
“What we have learned is that the public deserves more answers quickly,” said Bethune “We need the right people to come here,” said Bethune. “We don’t need people that are coming here to carry guns and carry out their disputes with gunfire and violence.“
Said Bethune, “We are working very hard to invest in our city. The Chamber invests a lot of money in our city, as do many business owners and property owners.”
“When we have motels offering rooms that are subpar rooms, nothing that you would stay in, for $45 to $50 a night, that attracts the wrong people,” Bethune added. “When we have businesses that are selling sexually graphic, improper T shirts and merchandise, drug paraphernalia, that does not welcome the right people.”
Bethune finished by concluding about the Saturday shooting, “So until we realize that people need to reinvest and invest in the right types of businesses in Myrtle Beach, we are not going to change the clientele.“
Local News Via - MyrtleBeachSC.com
