For a high crime city like Myrtle Beach, the Carolina Country Music Festival weekend can only be called a mild success.
Only one woman was strangled to death in an area hotel, one police officer was shot and injured, and one State Law Enforcement agent was shot at during the 4 day event.
AS IT OCCURRED
Local and state police in Myrtle Beach were shot at late Saturday, resulting in one officer being injured.
A shooting incident that occurred around 11 p.m. is now being investigated by Horry County Police.
Four officers from the Myrtle Beach Police Department and two from the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division responded in one vehicle to the area of 14th Avenue North and Chester Street after reports of someone with a gun.
HCPD said suspects fired at the officers’ vehicle as they approached.
According to the HCPD, one officer suffered a minor gunshot wound and will recover. No weapons were fired during the incident.
Due to the involvement of both MBPD and SLED officers, Horry County police took over the investigation.
A local news crew investigated the lower level of the Yachtsman Seaglass Tower parking structure early Sunday morning.
There were also bullet holes in nearby vehicles, some of which had to be towed away.
HOTEL MURDER
Reports say that an 18-year-old Ohio man is in custody for allegedly killing a woman near Myrtle Beach.
A woman was reported dead in a hotel room on Maison Drive on Wednesday by Horry County police.
When officers arrived, EMS was on the scene, telling HCPD that the victim had died.
Natalie Martin, 18, of Roseville, OH., was found unresponsive in her hotel room on Maison Dr. in Myrtle Beach, according to the Horry County Coroner.
The Criminal Investigations Department took over the investigation after “suspicious circumstances” were detected.
Based on evidence at the scene and witness statements, investigators determined that Blake William Linkous, 18, of Blue Rock, Ohio, manually strangled the victim on Tuesday.
On Thursday, Linkous was arrested and charged with murder.
IN PERSPECTIVE
To put the weekend in a proper perspective, the University of South Carolina, Clemson University, and Coastal Carolina University each played 12 games this past Fall football season. This comes to a total of 36 games over a 4 month period.
There were no shootings, no officers shot at, and no murders during the entire Fall season.