After the most recent rash of ocean boulevard shootings, Myrtle Beach Assistant City Manager, Josh Bruegger, announced a curfew for minors under the age of 18 years in downtown Myrtle Beach.

Bruegger stated that the city is just as frustrated as residents, merchants, and tourists about these violent acts.

Understanding the Curfew for Minors in Myrtle Beach

The curfew for minors runs from Wednesday through Monday this week, July 4th. If approved by Myrtle Beach City Council the curfew for minors will become permanent.

The new curfew starts at 10 p.m. and finishes at 6 a.m. the following day in a designated safe zone encompassing downtown Myrtle Beach, Ocean Boulevard, city parks, and facilities.

The zone includes the area from the Atlantic Ocean to Kings Highway, spanning between 13th Avenue South and 21st Avenue North. Additionally, a small section west of Kings Highway to Broadway Street, from Seventh to Ninth avenues North, is covered by the curfew.

There are various exceptions to the new temporary curfew. Minors can be in the protected area during the designated hours if they are:

• with a parent or guardian
• dealing with an emergency
• working or commuting to/from work
• in a vehicle for interstate travel
• participating in supervised school, religious, or government activities
• participating in city-sponsored or civic activities supervised by adults
• exercising First Amendment rights
• or legally emancipated (married).

Press release from City of Myrtle Beach

Myrtle Beach City Manager Fox Simons signed an Executive Order Tuesday morning, July 1, imposing an expanded curfew for minors in certain parts of the city from Wednesday, July 2, through Monday, July 7. Myrtle Beach City Code declares these dates to be an Extraordinary Event and authorizes the City Manager to impose a curfew for minors. An “extraordinary event” is an event that may impact the public based on a history or expectation of attracting a significant number of people and vehicles to a certain part of the city. As part of the Executive Order, the city’s juvenile curfew will be temporarily extended in designated areas.

From July 2–7, the curfew for individuals under 18 will begin at 10:00 p.m. and continue until 6:00 a.m. the following day within the defined “protected zone,” as well as all city parks, and other city facilities, both inside and outside the protected zone. During those hours, minors are not allowed in public places within the zone, all city parks and city facilities unless one of the exemptions below applies.

The protected zone includes much of the Ocean Boulevard and downtown area, specifically from the Atlantic Ocean to Kings Highway, between 13th Avenue South and 21st Avenue North. It also includes a small extension west of Kings Highway to Broadway Street, between Seventh and Ninth Avenues North.

Outside the protected zone, the city’s standard juvenile curfew of midnight to 6:00 a.m. remains in effect. You can read more about the citywide juvenile curfew ordinance, which has been in place since 2017, here.

Minors are exempt from the curfew for minors under the following circumstances:

• Accompanied by the minor’s parent or guardian.
• Involved in an emergency or errand necessitated by an emergency.
• Engaged in an employment activity, or on the way to/from an employment activity, without any detour or stop as necessary to drop off or pick up a co-employee.
• In motor vehicle engaged in interstate travel.
• On the sidewalk abutting the minor’s home.
• Attending a school, religious or governmental activity, which is supervised by adults, or traveling to and from such a school, religious or governmental activity without detour or stop.
• Attending a recreational activity sponsored by the City of Myrtle Beach, a civic organization, or a similar entity which is supervised by adults, or traveling to or from such an activity without detour or stop.
• Exercising rights protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
• Married, or otherwise legally emancipated by operation of law.