Thanksgiving morning in Jasper County, South Carolina got off to a violent start when local sheriff’s deputies and an officer of the Hardeeville, S.C. police department came under fire while responding to reports of a domestic disturbance in Ridgeland, S.C.
Upon arriving at the address in question (1831 Bees Creek Road), officers discovered “a man who had shot a woman,” one law enforcement source told us.
That’s when the already volatile situation escalated further …
“The man fired at officers, hitting a female deputy sheriff,” the source told us, adding that “the man was barricaded in the building.”
The female officer was transported to Memorial Hospital in Savannah, Georgia with what we were told are “non-life threatening injuries.”
“The deputy is currently recovering from surgery where possible bullet fragments or a pellet from a shot gun shell entered the eye,” an update from the sheriff’s office noted.
There is no initial report on the condition of the woman who was wounded prior to officers arriving on the scene. She was also transported to Savannah Memorial Hospital.
[su_dominion_video_scb]As for the suspect, officers have confirmed he was “found inside the residence deceased.”
“Officers at the scene entered the residence and found the man dead,” our source said.
According to the local sheriff, the man – a yet-to-be identified white male – died of “a self inflicted gunshot wound.”
Agents of the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) received the call to investigate the case shortly after 6:00 a.m. EST, according to agency spokesman Thom Berry.
“We’re working it,” Berry told us.
As a matter of protocol, SLED investigates nearly all officer-involved shootings that take place in the Palmetto State – with the notable exception of those involving deputies of the Richland County sheriff’s office (and more recently, those involving law enforcement officers in Florence County). Last year, the Palmetto State set a new record with 49 officer involved shootings.
“Thank you to the community for your prayers and concerns,” a statement from Jasper sheriff Chris Malphrus noted. “Please continue to pray for the injured deputy and everyone involved.”
Malphrus thanked SLED as well as officers of the Hardeeville and Ridgeland police departments and the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) for their assistance in responding to the incident.
Developing …
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