An officer-involved shooting took place in Aiken County, South Carolina on Thursday evening, according to local and state authorities.
According to a news release from the Aiken County, S.C. sheriff’s office, shortly before 7:30 p.m. EDT a deputy and two New Ellenton, S.C. police officers responded to a 911 call associated with a domestic disturbance between family members.
The address where the call originated from is in the 1100 block of Colbert Bridge Road near Aiken, S.C.
“When officers arrived they located the caller who said that the male suspect was at the residence with access to weapons,” the sheriff’s office release stated. “The officers observed the male suspect approaching down the driveway towards them with two long guns. The suspect did not respond to the officers orders to drop the guns and then fired one of the weapons.”
At that point, “the armed subject was shot by the responding deputy.”
The deputy who fired the shots is a white male. The suspect, who sustained two gunshot wounds, is also a white male. He was transported in stable condition to a hospital in Augusta, Georgia for treatment.
None of the law enforcement officers involved in the incident sustained injuries.
As a matter of protocol, all officer-involved shootings in the Palmetto State are investigated by the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED). Barring any conflicts, the agency then forwards its findings to the solicitor with jurisdiction over the county where the shooting took place. In this case, that would be S.C. second circuit solicitor J. Strom Thurmond Jr.
This is the ninth officer-involved shooting in South Carolina this year. Last year 49 officer-involved shootings took place in the Palmetto State – a new record.
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