An officer-involved shooting took place on Monday afternoon in Spartanburg, South Carolina, multiple law enforcement sources are confirming to this news outlet.
According to our sources, the suspect in the shooting – 48-year-old Anovath Troy Kongvongxay – died as a result of the single gunshot wound he sustained during the incident, which took place at 218 Donovan Drive in southeastern Spartanburg, S.C.
The incident began at around 3:30 p.m. EST and involved deputies of the Spartanburg County, S.C. sheriff’s office. According to our sources, all law enforcement officers associated with the event are “okay.”
According to a news release from the local sheriff, deputies responded to reports of a domestic disturbance at the aforementioned address. Upon arriving, they “observed broken glass in the roadway” and “encountered a male Asian suspect at that residence who was exhibiting erratic and aggressive behavior.”
“(Kongvongxay) believed the deputies were there to give him a ticket for littering for the glass in the roadway and said he didn’t have the money to pay a fine,” the release continued. “At one point, the suspect went inside the house and armed himself with an axe, but the deputies and his elderly mother convinced the suspect to put the axe down.”
Due to Kongvongxay’s behavior, one of the deputies called a probate judge seeking an order to take him to a local hospital for an evaluation. Ten minutes later, with a signed order in hand, the deputies re-approached the residence.
[su_dominion_video_scb]That’s when Kongvongxay – apparently under the impression deputies were taking him to jail instead of the hospital – went for the axe again, allegedly.
“The deputies again began negotiating with (Kongvongxay) while also moving his mother to a safe location,” the release noted, saying he “would put the axe down only to pick it back up again.”
Eventually, Kongvongxay became so agitated he allegedly “grabbed the axe like baseball bat and started advancing towards the deputies.”
“Despite numerous and repeated verbal commands, the suspect continued coming towards the deputies, and one of them fire a single shot, striking the suspect,” the release stated.
Agents of the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) were working the crime scene at the request of the local sheriff. As a matter of protocol, SLED investigates virtually every officer-involved shooting that takes place in South Carolina. At the moment, only two law enforcement agencies in the state – the Richland County sheriff’s department and the Florence County sheriff’s office – decline to allow SLED to investigate shooting incidents involving their officers.
Monday’s shooting is the 32nd officer-involved shooting in South Carolina this year. Last year, the Palmetto State set a new record with 49 officer-involved shootings.
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