MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – The Myrtle Beach Police Department will host its National Night Out beginning Tuesday afternoon at various locations.

The event is hosted in different communities across the U.S. as a way to build the relationship between police officers and residents. The family-friendly event works to open the conversation between police departments and neighbors about what’s needed to keep the community safe. After a number of violent crimes in Myrtle Beach over the past four months, police say parents, community leaders, and neighbors have to get involved if they want the senseless violence to stop.

“It’s a collaborative effort,” declares Captain Joey Crosby with Myrtle Beach Police. “We each have a part to play in this endeavor, and it’s very vital for us to have the community’s input as you hear us say for our community outreach meetings and for our community watch meetings.”

A shooting on Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach on June 18 made national headlines when the shooting was broadcast on Facebook Live. That same weekend, officers were called to three other shootings. After four shootings in just 48 hours, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster responded offering state resources to keep Myrtle Beach residents and visitors safe.

Then Interim Police Chief Amy Prock addressed Myrtle Beach City Council members and some 300 residents who packed council chambers three days after the violent weekend.

“You got to let us know because we can’t do anything if we don’t know,” said Prock.

It’s that plea for the community’s help that Capt. Crosby echoes and hopes to see in the National Night Out event Tuesday.

After a pregnant woman and her unborn baby were killed in a Myrtle Beach shooting Sept. 24, leaders in the community demanded change from residents and explicitly saying the violence crippling Myrtle Beach neighborhoods can’t be solved by police officers alone.

“We know we have a problem,” said Reverend Wesley Finkley at a vigil for murder victims Jadasia Myers and her unborn daughter, Harmony. “Now let’s be innovative and come together and help solve the problem. This is not just a police problem. It’s a community problem, it’s a household problem, it’s a family problem.”

Myrtle Beach community member Nicholette Hemingway agrees with the reverend’s statement, saying it’s time for neighbors to start engaging one another again and recognizing when a situation doesn’t look right.

“As residents in our community, I think we need to be more visual and more present in our communities by walking our streets and talking to our neighbors and interacting with our neighbors,” suggests Hemingway. “That way, we can keep the crime down.”

Myrtle Beach Police will host their National Night Out event Tuesday at various locations. Here’s the complete schedule:

3:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Sandygate Village Neighborhood – 1011 Osceola Street (behind main office)

4:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Target (Corporate Sponsor) – Target on Seaboard Street (main parking lot)

4:00 to 6:30 p.m.

South Myrtle Neighborhood – Seaside Village Pond (Virginia Marshall Park entrance)

5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Emmens Preserve Neighborhood – Emmens Preserve Park

Palmetto Greens Neighborhood – Palmetto Greens’ Pool House

5:30 to 7:00 p.m.

Seagate Village Neighborhood – Corner of Spruce Drive and Swallow Avenue

5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

The Avenues Neighborhood – Beach Access at 39th Avenue North

6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Old Pine Lakes Neighborhood – Oak Circle

Booker T. Washington Neighborhood – Garden of Hope, 1395 Carver Street