‘Confused and hurt’: Family wants Horry County nightclub closed after deadly New Year’s Day shooting

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — A grieving mother is looking for answers after her son was shot and killed at an Horry County nightclub in the early hours of New Year’s Day.

Four hours after the new year, Tanisha Lewis received a phone call from her sister that her nephew, Emanuel Melvin, 22, had been shot and killed at the G Spot nightclub, which has a Longs address.

“I was confused and hurt all at the same time,” Lewis said.

Two other people were wounded in the shooting, according to three separate Horry County police reports.

The Horry County Coroner’s Office confirmed Tuesday afternoon that Melvin died in the shooting. News13 had reached out to the coroner’s office on Monday after getting a tip on Sunday.

According to the police reports, responding officers found Melvin on his back near a back entryway to the bar and began providing first aid. Officers also had to help control a “hostile crowd” until EMS could transport the victim.

The report also said officers found several shell casings from a handgun inside the bar.

“Emanuel was a remarkable individual,” Lewis said. “I’m not going to say he was a saint because none of us are, but when it comes to respect for adults, and younger kids, he had that. And he was just a happy individual.”

Melvin’s mother, Manika Davis, said he was at the G Spot to celebrate the new year.

“We both grew up in that community,” Lewis said. “Its previous name was The Big Apple. It was trouble then, and it’s trouble now.”

The G Spot has been the scene of multiple violent incidents in the past, including several that were reported on by News13.

Horry County officials went to court in January 2017 and filed a petition to close the bar for up to one year, citing three separate violent incidents from 2016 alone.

“The G Spot has been the location of numerous calls for service involving shootings, fights, and illegal drugs,” the 2017 petition said, adding that since 2006, police had responded to the bar 28 times for calls “involving guns, assaults, drugs, and/or any combination of the three.”

The court granted the petition, but it was suspended as part of an agreement with the bar’s owners to adhere to several requirements over a period of two years, including: closing at or before 1 a.m.; not using event promoters to host special events; and having SLED-certified guards inside and outside the bar to check for weapons and drugs as people entered.

The agreement also required the bar to have a 50-to-1 customer-to-security ratio at all times; to maintain a street light in the parking lot; and to maintain security cameras and a DVR system inside the bar and outside in the parking lot.

News13 tried to contact the owner of G Spot, but the woman hung up the phone when asked if she owned the nightclub. A second call went to voicemail.

Melvin’s family said their goal is to get the nightclub shut down.

“The doors need to be shut so that no one else, no other family, has to endure what we’re enduring,” Lewis said. “Enough of that has taken place there in that one building.”

“I’m going to be his voice until something is done,” Davis said.

Jimmy Richardson, the 15th Circuit Solicitor, told News13 on Monday that his office had not received any recent requests from police to take legal action against the business.

“His name will not be forgotten,” Lewis said.

Davis said Tuesday was the first time she was able to speak with authorities about the shooting because of the holiday weekend. She said the family has been given very little details about the incident.

Police have not said if there are any suspects in the case. Count on News13 for updates.