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After Friday night’s deadly shooting on Myrtle Beach’s popular Ocean Boulevard tourist strip, the city plans to enforce a special curfew while Fourth of July crowds swarm the area.

The curfew changes come after a recent deadly shooting at the downtown restaurant Peaches Corner. Grayson Meyers, 18, was shot and killed after a confrontation with a restaurant employee, Evony McCray, 17. This was the third shooting in the area to take place this summer.

Another shooting in April in the 900 block of North Ocean Boulevard involved a Myrtle Beach Police officer, who shot and killed an 18-year-old who drew his weapon and shot into a crowd. The shooting left 11 others injured.

At a Saturday press conference, following the recent incidents, Myrtle Beach Police Chief Amy Prock said that the city was beginning to “reevaluate” its curfew. An announcement posted by the city on social media on Tuesday indicates that this temporary change could be a step in that direction, but the question of enforcement was left largely unanswered.

Amid the talk of curfews and preventing youth crime downtown, locals and visitors alike have had a common inquiry online: How will these rules be enforced?

According to Myrtle Beach Police Lt. Allen Amick, the way they’ve always been enforced.

The city already has a curfew for those 17 and under, which usually starts at midnight and ends at 6 a.m. the next day. That curfew will continue to be enforced outside of the specified areas where the temporary curfew will take hold. But with the change in rules, police don’t anticipate much change in tactics.

In the “enforcement” section of the executive order enacting the temporary curfew, officers are directed to ask for proof of any offenders’ age and ask their reasons for being out past curfew if they are a minor. Assistant City Manager Josh Bruegger said that the city’s goal is “voluntary compliance through education” in an email to The Sun News.

Bruegger added that those found to be in violation will be “detained until they can be released to a responsible party.”

Amick said that enforcement of this temporary curfew ”will pretty much be the same enforcement we’ve been doing,” and that the main changes come with the curfew times and locations.

The new curfew for those under 18 years old will begin at 10 p.m. and end at 6 a.m. the next day within a defined “protected zone,” as well as all city parks and other city facilities, The Sun News previously reported.

The zone will include areas from Atlantic Ocean to Kings Highway, between 13th Avenue South and 21st Avenue North. Also included is a small extension west of Kings Highway to Broadway Street, between Seventh and Ninth avenues North.

Some exemptions to the curfew may apply, such as when minors are accompanied by their guardian or traveling to or from certain kinds of supervised events or employment.

Amick said that the curfew will continue to be enforced by “having officers there, being visible.”

“A lot of it is just through interaction,” he said, explaining that officers will be interacting with juveniles as necessary to defuse situations.

Right now though, Amick said the main task at hand is making sure the public knows about the impending curfew changes before they come out for fireworks and festivities.

Police presence will be increased in the downtown area due to the crowds typically drawn out by July 4th celebrations in Myrtle Beach, but Amick said there will be no “curfew-specific” increases in force.

In response to questions about whether these enforcement practices and hopes of voluntary compliance would be enough, Bruegger wrote that there is an “enforcement piece” that can take place in line with the current city curfew ordinance, making violation a misdemeanor.

“Our preference is voluntary compliance; however, this does not mean that we will not take enforcement action on this misdemeanor offense, when appropriate,” he said.

City Manager Fox Simons and City Director of Communications and Creative Services Meredith Denari did not immediately respond for comment.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

This story was originally published July 1, 2025 at 1:33 PM.