One person is dead after an altercation Saturday night in the 2700 block of North Kings Highway in Myrtle Beach, according to police. Officers responded to a suspicious call in the area around 8:24 p.m. and discovered the person deceased, setting off an active investigation into what happened.
According to WPDE, Myrtle Beach Police Department officers were dispatched to the suspicious call and learned once on scene that an altercation had occurred and that one person had died. Investigators are still working to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident, the outlet reported.
No Known Threat, But More Patrols Expected
Police said there is no known ongoing threat to the community at this time, even as the case remains under active investigation. Residents in the area can expect to see an increased law enforcement presence as officers continue to work the scene and gather information, per the same report.
Anyone with information related to the incident is asked to contact the Myrtle Beach Police Department at 843-918-1382. No further details about the identity of the person who died, the cause of death, or any possible suspects have been released.
Part of a Busy Year for Myrtle Beach Police
Saturday's incident lands amid a year in which Myrtle Beach Police Department has described itself as stretched thin even as violent crime trends downward. The department logged 133,024 calls for service in 2024, its highest volume in nearly a decade, according to the Post and Courier. The paper reported that violent crime reports fell to 2,578 in 2024, a nearly 47.5 percent decrease compared to 2015, while a separate count from WMBF News put the 2024 Part 1 crime total at 2,578 as well, describing it as a 47 percent drop from 4,909 reports in 2015.
Other categories moved in the opposite direction last year. Shoplifting reports climbed from 761 cases in 2023 to 862 in 2024, and DUI cases rose from 341 to 456 over the same span, the Post and Courier found. Car thefts, meanwhile, dipped from 180 incidents in 2023 to 158 in 2024. Myrtle Beach Police Chief Amy Prock told WMBF News that fraud and shoplifting are among the crime trends the department is watching most closely.
Not the First Violent Incident Along the Corridor
North Kings Highway has seen other serious incidents in recent memory, though none connected to Saturday's case. In one earlier episode, a road-rage dispute escalated into a parking lot altercation at 7925 North Kings Highway, according to WYFF4, which reported that Kevin Lamar McCoy was charged with aggravated assault and battery, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and unlawful possession of a firearm after a man was shot in a Publix parking lot. That victim was transported to a local hospital and was reported to be in stable condition.
In a separate case, officers responded to a report of a deceased person near a building at 6800 North Kings Highway, arriving just after 6:30 a.m., according to the Myrtle Beach Sun News. Neither of those earlier incidents is connected to Saturday night's deadly altercation, which remains under investigation by Myrtle Beach police.
