Patricia Washington's 13-year-old son Zavian was shot twice and grazed once by bullets during an April 26 shooting on Ocean Boulevard. Zavian (left) poses with national civil rights activist John C. Barnett (right), who visited him.

MYRTLE BEACH — The call left Patricia Washington speechless.

Her 13-year-old son, Zavian, had been shot on Myrtle Beach's Ocean Boulevard April 26 . Zavian's father called to give her the news.

"I was so scared,” said Washington, who lives in Martinsville, Va. "I didn’t even want to ask him where he got shot because I was just so nervous."

One bullet struck Zavian's right leg. Another pierced his left arm. A third grazed him. He survived, but Washington said her son will live with a bullet in his arm for the foreseeable future. Doctors told her removing it could cause more damage.

Traffic can’t move freely on Ocean Boulevard on April 25, 2025, during the Myrtle Beach Police Department’s Summer Emergency Vehicle Access Plan. The plan includes closing the boulevard between 9th and 8th avenues north 4 p.m.-2 a.m. every Friday and Saturday and limiting boulevard traffic to southbound only from 16th Avenue North to 9th Avenue North as traffic is diverted to Kings Highway through those areas.

Zavian was one of 11 people injured in the shooting. That doesn't include Jerrius Davis , an 18-year-old from Bennettsville who was shot and killed by Myrtle Beach Police .

The minimal information released by law enforcement has frustrated shooting victims who want answers.

People walk on Ocean Boulevard past a law enforcement officer and vehicle blocking the northbound lane on April 19, 2025, during the Myrtle Beach Police Department’s Summer Emergency Vehicle Access Plan. The plan includes closing the boulevard between 9th and 8th avenues north 4 p.m.-2 a.m. every Friday and Saturday and limiting boulevard traffic to southbound only from 16th Avenue North to 9th Avenue North as traffic is diverted to Kings Highway through those areas.

"I want accountability," said John C. Barnett, the founder of the civil rights organization True Healing Under God (T.H.U.G). He has been representing victims' families and demanding that SLED and the MBPD release more information about the incident.

"A 13-year-old kid shot, come on now," he said. "He’ll never forget that as long as he lives."

Zavian had been here on vacation with his father and other family members. They were walking down Ocean Boulevard toward their hotel room when they heard gunshots.

Zavian sought shelter in an alley.

"He didn’t realize that he had got shot until he collapsed," Washington said. "He said he just couldn’t run no more."

An empty and dark block divides Ocean Boulevard on April 25, 2025, during the Myrtle Beach Police Department’s Summer Emergency Vehicle Access Plan. The plan includes closing the boulevard between 9th and 8th avenues north 4 p.m.-2 a.m. every Friday and Saturday and limiting boulevard traffic to southbound only from 16th Avenue North to 9th Avenue North as traffic is diverted to Kings Highway through those areas.

Washington said Zavian's father was also grazed by a bullet. It's still unclear who shot her son, though she said Zavian doesn't remember seeing Davis, the 18-year-old killed by police, at any point during the incident.

"It's just really upsetting to not know what happened," Washington said. "When things happen, they [MBPD and SLED] should at least alert the families in a faster manner."

Since the shooting, Washington said Zavian hasn't wanted to leave the house other than to go to school.

Another person injured during the shooting was 15-year-old Serenity Chavis. Days after a seven-hour surgery and with a cast on her right leg, she recounted her experience during a May 7 news conference that was livestreamed.

Chavis said she had been walking around downtown with friends when she heard gunshots and commotion.

"I tried to run, but in the midst of me running my leg just gave out," she said. "When the police shot me, I didn’t feel the bullet, my leg just gave out. I couldn’t run no more. I’m trying to drag my leg and go, and I just couldn’t do it."

Chavis didn’t recall seeing Davis ever fire his weapon but remembers police telling him to drop his gun. Chavis’ mother, Kendra Malloy, said she's angry with how police have handled the investigation.

"I’m being left in the blind," she said during the news conference. "We were in the hospital for five days. Nobody reached out to us."

Barnett said authorities are planning to meet with him to share video of the incident. He said he will hold another news conference after reviewing the footage. He has a list of demands for both SLED and the MBPD, including that all those hurt in the shooting receive some form of victim assistance and counseling.

He's also opposed to the city's decision to place the officers involved in the shooting on administrative leave. Those officers haven't been identified, but the MBPD did acknowledge that three officers were placed on paid leave as part of the agency's protocol for police shootings.

Neither the MBPD nor SLED immediately responded to questions from The Post and Courier .

But, 15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson said this case is unique because SLED has taken over the investigation entirely. Typically, SLED will get involved in cases where officers fired their weapon to determine whether the shooting was justified. In this case, however, Richardson said Myrtle Beach Police asked SLED to take over the whole investigation, including looking at whether individuals other than police were involved and needed to be charged.

"That part doesn’t always happen that way," Richardson said. "Most of the time, the police agency investigates the underlying shooting and then all SLED does is look at whether or not an officer used his weapon, if that was justified or not."

He said he understands the community wants more information and he does as well, but investigations of this scale take significant time to gather all of the evidence.

Once SLED finishes its investigation, the agency will present its information to the solicitor's office, Richardson said. He noted that the city wants to provide more information about the shooting but SLED has told them to wait until the investigation is over.

"It's probably taken longer than anybody would want it to," he said.