MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – After a shooting in Myrtle Beach Saturday, Myrtle Beach Police are partnering with other agencies to determine who is committing violent crimes in Horry County communities and get those responsible in jail faster.
The shooting happened Saturday off of 29th Avenue North and Horry County Police are still looking for the person who shot a man on Old Bryan Drive. Officials explain that 29th Avenue North emergency calls are divided by Horry County and Myrtle Beach Police. Calls from one side of the street go to Myrtle Beach Police and the need for police on the other side of the street go to Horry County Police.
It’s one of several shootings that have occurred in the last few weeks in Myrtle Beach and police are now working with other departments for what looks to be a very busy summer.
People who live in the apartment complex off of 29th Avenue North where the shooting occurred say it’s typically pretty quiet, but the crimes of the city are getting too close to home.
Violence near Ocean Boulevard has dominated police time as officers have reported to seven back-to-back shootings since the beginning of April.
“It concerns, I think, everybody, but I’m not as worried about it because they’re not really in this immediate area,” says Bobby Smith, who lives off 29th Avenue North.
Smith says while the violence is a problem, he hasn’t been too worried for his safety, until the most recent shooting.
“That’s been restricted, like you say, more up by Ocean Boulevard and it’s more towards downtown,” describes Smith of the violence before Saturday.
Myrtle Beach Police is taking action against the string of violent crimes by partnering with different departments and offering more resources to solve the crimes.
“The crime analyst plays a vital part in this where she evaluates what crimes are taking place, what are the trends, and that information is passed along to the officers so they can then also evaluate and see that information and we can deploy our resources as needed and move them to different areas to address that situation,” says Lt. Joey Crosby with Myrtle Beach Police.
Lt. Crosby says the analysis is also working with other departments because their investigations show most of the recent crime, especially the back to back shootings around Easter weekend, involved people visiting Myrtle Beach, not permanent residents.
“We’ve asked the other jurisdictions to come in and assist us, such as the Horry County Sheriff’s Office,” says Lt. Joey Crosby. “In addition to that, our gang enforcement officers are working with their counterparts across the state to gather intelligence and gather information as to what trend they’re seeing.”
Lt. Crosby says officers need help from those who live in Myrtle Beach to solve and prevent crime around the city. The department is pushing community watch groups. The neighborhood just down from the Saturday’s shooting is hosting a meeting Monday night.
