A bulletproof vest prevented a Greenwood, South Carolina police officer from serious injury when he was shot while responding to a domestic violence call Thursday evening, according to law enforcement officials.
Sources familiar with the incident tell us that a suspect, whose name has not been released, pulled a gun on police officers. The officer who was shot returned fire.
The suspect who shot at the officer died in the incident, according to a release from the S.C. Law Enforcement Division (SLED).
The officer, whose name also has not been released, was taken to the hospital and treated with minor injuries, the SLED news release said.
SLED officials are investigating the incident. They will not release any further information on the incident at this time.
“SLED conducts law enforcement officer involved shooting investigations at the request of the agency involved in the incident,” the SLED news release said. “These independent investigations follow SLED’s guidance in conducting interviews along with the gathering and analysis of forensic evidence. Interviews are being conducted with the responding officers and others.”
This is the 18th officer-involved shooting in South Carolina so far in 2020, according to the SLED news release.
This is one of two officer-involved shootings that occurred in South Carolina Thursday. We will have more information on the Florence, South Carolina shooting soon.
This is also the second officer-involved shooting in Greenwood this year, according to SLED.
“In 2019, there were 45 officer-involved shootings in South Carolina; none involved the Greenwood Police Department,” the news release said.
Greenwood has a population of about 22,000 residents.
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