A person is dead following a high-speed chase and shootout that took place along two interstate highways in four counties in South Carolina on Friday morning. Another person is in custody as a suspect in the shooting.
The deadly drama began just before 2 am EDT in Orangeburg County, when SC Highway Patrol officers (SCHP) attempted to stop a vehicle traveling north on Interstate 95 at more than 104 miles an hour.
The vehicle fled officers and headed east on Interstate 26 – chasing deputies from the Orangeburg, Berkeley and Charleston county sheriff’s offices.
This chase by multiple agencies featured several exchanges of fire at various locations, according to our sources – including a shooting at a rest area on Interstate 26 in Charleston County.
The news of the shooting was first reported by Danielle Seat WCSC TV-5 (CBS – Charleston, SC).
According to our sources, police chasing the suspect vehicle were shot several times during the chase, as the vehicle they were chasing accelerated across the interstate at three-digit speeds.
The chase ended in a rest area located within Charleston County near mile mark 204 (northwest of the exit for Charleston Southern University)
The first reports indicate that no police were injured during the chase and the various exchanges of fire. One suspect was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries in connection with the incident – although it is not immediately clear where they were shot.
As for the only fatality associated with the incident, sources familiar with the situation tell us that the individual was shot and killed during the shooting in the rest area. No additional information about the victim was immediately available.
(Via: Google Maps)
As a matter of protocol in the vast majority of shootings involving officers in South Carolina, agents from the SC State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) were brought in to oversee the investigation.
“We are investigating the incident”, a SLED spokesman Tommy Crosby told us. “We believe it involves several scenes.”
Two deputies from Berkeley County were placed on administrative leave after the shooting in the rest area – as were several SCHP soldiers. This is the standard protocol when investigating police shootings.
The incident was the sixteenth police shooting in South Carolina so far this year. There were a total of 45 police shootings in South Carolina last year, four less than the record set in 2017.
UPDATE: Warrants issued, additional information available …
-FITSNews
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