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Suspect Killed, Officer Wounded In South Carolina Police Shooting

By Dustin Murrell
Published on: 02:43 PST, Nov 17, 2015

A suspect was shot and killed — and two officers hospitalized — after the police were making a drug-related arrest around 1:30 a.m. in Cayce, South Carolina, Tuesday morning.

A spokeswoman for the city of Cayce, Ashley Hunter, advised that the two officers in the incident were white. The suspect was black, according to State Law Enforcement Division spokesman Thom Berry. There is no indication at this point that race played any factor in the shooting, as the suspect was the first to open fire.

While the Cayce Department of Public Safety officers were attempting to arrest the suspect, as the Cola Daily reported, he shot and wounded one officer before being killed by the police officer’s return fire. The officer wounded in the line of duty is currently in the hospital and is expected to make a full recovery. The names of the suspect and the officers involved have not yet been released by Cayce officials. The South Caroline Law Enforcement Division (SLED) will open an investigation into the matter, as they do in all shootings that involve a police officer.

As WLTX 19 reports, statistics show that this is South Carolina’s 45th officer involved shooting this year. As noted by the Post and Courier, one more police-involved shooting this year and they will tie the state’s “record” of 46 shootings, set in 2012. South Carolina police officers have already surpassed last year’s number of 42.

The WLTX report indicates that the shooting took place on the 1900 block of Lorick Street, just off of State Street in Cayce. Although just one officer was shot, both are in the hospital, according to the most recent statements from officials.

Regarding the injured officers, the Cayce Mayor Elise Partin released the following statement.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with our officers at this time. They and all our Cayce Public Safety Officers bravely protect and serve our Cayce community. We are incredibly thankful for them.”

Cayce, South Carolina, is located in central South Carolina, just outside of Columbia, the state capital and home of the University of South Carolina.

Just a week ago, as reported by CNN, another death by police shooting was making headlines after a campus police officer at Spartanburg Methodist College shot and killed a man in a similar situation. Thom Berry released a statement for this incident as well, saying that the officer was responding to a reported car break-in behind a student dormitory at the school.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEZL9iYlrgQ

While one of the two suspects involved was apprehended, the other got into a truck and struck the officer while trying to flee the scene. The officer, “in fear of his life,” shot and killed the suspect.

Spartanburg Methodist College is located near the northwest corner of South Carolina, about 100 miles from the police shooting in Cayce. Spartanburg Methodist is a small, independent, two-year college in South Carolina. The college had a total student enrollment of 803 students in 2011.

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