One person is dead in the aftermath of a high-speed pursuit and shootout that took place along two Interstates in four South Carolina counties on Friday morning. Another person is in custody in as a suspect in the shooting.
The deadly drama began shortly before 2:00 a.m. EDT in Orangeburg county when officers of the S.C. Highway Patrol (SCHP) attempted to pull over a vehicle traveling northbound on Interstate 95 at more than 104 miles per hour.
The vehicle fled from officers and headed eastbound on Interstate 26 – drawing chase from deputies of the Orangeburg, Berkeley and Charleston county sheriff’s offices.
This multi-agency pursuit featured numerous exchanges of gunfire at multiple locations, according to our sources – including a shootout at a rest area on Interstate 26 in Charleston county.
News of the shooting was first reported by Danielle Seat of WCSC TV-5 (CBS – Charleston, S.C.).
According to our sources, law enforcement officers pursuing the suspect vehicle were fired upon several times during the pursuit as the vehicle they were chasing sped down the interstate at triple-digit speeds.
The chase ended at a rest area located just inside Charleston county near mile marker 204 (just northwest of the exit for Charleston Southern University).
Early reports indicate no law enforcement personnel were injured during the pursuit and the various exchanges of gunfire. A suspect was reportedly hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries in connection with the incident – although it is not immediately clear where they were shot.
As for the one fatality associated with the incident, sources familiar with the situation tell us the individual was shot and killed during the shootout at the rest area. No additional information about the victim was immediately available.
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As a matter of protocol in the vast majority of officer-involved shootings in South Carolina, agents of the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) have been brought in to oversee the inquiry.
“We are investigating the incident,” SLED spokesman Tommy Crosby told us. “We believe it involves multiple scenes.”
Two Berkeley county deputies have been placed on administrative leave in the aftermath of the shootout at the rest area – as have several SCHP troopers. That is standard protocol during the investigation of officer-involved shootings.
The incident was the sixteenth officer-involved shooting in South Carolina so far this year. There were a total of 45 officer-involved shootings in South Carolina last year, four shy of the record set in 2017.
UPDATE: Warrants issued, additional information available …
-FITSNews
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