Warrants: Man charged with murder in nightclub shooting waited outside for victim

A 29-year-old man is charged with murder in a fatal shooting outside a Myrtle Beach nightclub early Sunday.

Myrtle Beach police charged Kevin Tyrone Bryant Wednesday with murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime and felon in possession of a handgun. He was being held Wednesday at the Myrtle Beach jail.

Police responded to a call of shots fired at Club Levelz, located at 515 Ninth Ave. N., around 2:30 a.m. Sunday morning. Upon arrival police found Saequan Vereen, 23, of the Myrtle Beach area, shot and killed, according to a police report.

Through an investigation police found Bryant waited for the victim outside the nightclub by crouching between two cars. When Vereen exited the club, Bryant jumped out and shot at Vereen multiple times, police said. Police have not released a motive for the shooting.

Horry County deputy coroner Daris Fowler said the cause of death a gunshot causing trauma to vital organs.

Witnesses told police that after Vereen was shot, Bryant was shot by security guards hired by club management, said Lt. Joey Crosby of Myrtle Beach Police Department. Bryant was detained by security guards and taken to the hospital, Crosby said.

Before the shooting the solicitor’s office had been asked by Myrtle Beach police to serve a notice of abatement to club owners about the club being a public nuisance, 15th Solicitor Jimmy Richardson said.

“We had already started that process before Sunday. There were numerous complaints that the City of Myrtle Beach had worked before that,” Richardson said. “We review the evidence the police or the investigators bring to us.”

The abatement notice was served Sunday and club owners have 10 days to bring the club up to the specifications authorities asked for before officials will file a civil motion to close the club, Richardson said. The solicitor’s office contracts with the Battle Law Firm to handle such issues because they are civil matters.

A judge will review the case and decide if authorities have met the preponderance of evidence to shut the club down, Richardson said. Officials look at factors including the number of calls and resources police have used at a business during a specific time period, if there has been reports of prostitution or drug sales, and any requests from neighbors about patrons at a business.

Staff reporter Tonya Root contributed to this report.

This story was originally published February 18, 2015 at 6:31 PM.