MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — The Myrtle Beach police officer who shot and killed 18-year-old Jerrius Davis in response to him firing shots into a crowd on Ocean Boulevard in late April will not face criminal charges, authorities said on Friday.

Brandon O’Rourke will not face charges and, per Myrtle Beach Police Department policy, will return to full active duty on Friday. He was placed on paid administrative leave after the April 26 shooting while SLED conducted its investigation, which has been completed.

Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson said in a letter to SLED provided to News13 by Myrtle Beach police that O’Rourke was justified in his use of deadly force.

“After reviewing your full investigation and applying the objective reasonableness standard and the elevated threat level, I decline prosecution in this case,” Richardson wrote. “It appears that Pfc. O’Rourke acted in a reasonable [manner] to alleviate the threat to himself, his fellow officers and the community members present and targeted by Davis.”

O’Rourke and officers Mohamed El-Helwi and Jeramiah Johnson were leaving an unrelated call for service at Mr. Fries in the 900 block of N. Ocean Boulevard at about 11:50 p.m., the agency said. As the officers walked out, video shows Davis brandished a handgun and fired multiple shots toward a group of people.

Upon hearing the gunfire, O’Rourke pulled out his department-issued 9mm Glock handgun and returned fire at Davis, who had started running from the crowd he had just fired four shots at. O’Rourke returned fire with five shots of his own at Davis, hitting and killing him.

El-Helwi and Johnson were right behind O’Rourke, but never fired their handguns, police said. The shootings, from start to finish, lasted less than five seconds.

“Obviously, April 26, 2025 was a chaotic night. That chaos started when Davis opened fire on a crowded section of Ocean Boulevard,” Richardson’s letter reads. “The above mentioned Myrtle Beach Police officers responded very quickly and because of all of the cameras, we have a good idea of what went on in those hectic and dangerous seconds of gunfire.”

Richardson said to determine if O’Rourke was justified, they had to look into the “reasonableness” of his actions.

“Clearly, he walked into a situation where Davis was still firing into a crowd or had been shooting seconds earlier,” he wrote. “From the witness statements, the video and audio submissions captured by the city’s shot spotter,’ we know that the situation was active and potentially deadly.”

In the aftermath of the shooting, 11 people suffered gunshot-related injuries, with some of them including bullet wounds and shrapnel grazes. Police Chief Amy Prock said four of them were taken by an ambulance, while seven self-reported to the hospital.

One of those people was critically hurt, but all have since been released from the hospital, according to Prock. The victims’ ages ranged from 13 to 43.

At least two other teenagers known to have been injured are 15-year-old Serenity Chavis and Zavian Washington, 13. Both are being represented by civil rights activist John Barnett.

Chavis claims she was shot by an officer’s bullet, as does an unnamed 17-year-old.

“We may go home, and it’s business as usual, but they are left in the dark, in their bedroom as children, teenagers, saying, I went to the beach and got shot,” Barnett said in early June.

Myrtle Beach police also said Friday it received an unredacted copy of SLED’s report into the shooting, but that it contains confidential juvenile information that, by South Carolina law, cannot be released. SLED is currently in the process of redacting the confidential information so that a publicly available copy can be released.

This is a developing story. Count on News13 for updates.