2 of 11 injured in deadly Myrtle Beach officer-involved shooting file federal lawsuit
MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) - A shooting involving a Myrtle Beach police officer that left one dead, 11 injured, and shocked the community is now the subject of a federal lawsuit.
The lawsuit was filed Aug. 3 in the Florence Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. The plaintiffs are Matthew Flow, a victim of the shooting, and Kendra Malloy, filing on behalf of her daughter Serenity Chavis, who was also hurt in the shooting.
The plaintiffs accuse Officer Brandon O’Rourke of firing his weapon at close range into a crowd of bystanders outside Mr. Fries restaurant on Ocean Boulevard.
They also accuse O’Rourke of making a “conscious decision to fire his weapon even though the sidewalk was crowded.” The filing notes that no other officers on the scene fired into the crowd.
The plaintiffs also claim violations of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. They accuse the Myrtle Beach Police Department of gross negligence under the South Carolina Tort Claims Act, claiming the department failed to properly train, supervise, and retain officers fit for duty.
The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory, actual, and consequential damages, as well as punitive damages on the civil rights counts.
Previous coverage:
- 1 dead, 11 injured in Myrtle Beach officer-involved shooting, SLED investigating
- Law enforcement expert shares insight on handling of Myrtle Beach officer-involved shooting
- Myrtle Beach police release dashcam, new details in deadly officer-involved shooting
- ‘Screaming for help’: Teen recounts being shot during deadly Myrtle Beach officer-involved shooting
- SLED releases report on deadly Myrtle Beach officer-involved shooting
The shooting occurred just before midnight on April 26, 2025, near the 900 block of Ocean Boulevard.
Eleven people were injured, ranging in age from 13 to 43, including both Flow and Chavis.
Eighteen-year-old Jerrius Davis of Bennettsville was killed in the shooting.
A police report listed the incident as “justifiable homicide.”
According to the SLED report, O’Rourke and two other officers were inside Mr. Fries restaurant when the shooting began outside.
O’Rourke said he saw Davis fire a gun into the crowd and made the decision to return fire, describing the situation as an “active shooter” scenario.
Davis fired four shots; O’Rourke fired five, according to the Shot Spotter detection system.
Davis was connected to a months-long conflict between groups of teens from Bennettsville and Laurinburg. Earlier that same night, Myrtle Beach police responded to a separate shooting on 5th Avenue North involving the same groups.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division investigated the shooting and cleared O’Rourke of criminal wrongdoing.
Solicitor Jimmy Richardson said O’Rourke acted “in a reasonable manner” and declined to press charges.
O’Rourke returned to active duty on Aug. 29, 2025.
The Myrtle Beach Police Department declined to comment on the pending litigation.
The plaintiffs are represented by attorney Bakari T. Sellers of the Strom Law Firm.
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