‘Drew was murdered.’ Cayce police share details of officer’s fatal shooting over weekend
“Drew was murdered, he was murdered, there is no if and or buts about that,” Cayce Police Chief Chris Cowan said in a press briefing Tuesday regarding the shooting of a Cayce officer over the weekend.
Roy Andrew “Drew” Barr, 27, was shot and killed early Sunday morning while responding to a domestic violence call. The suspected gunman, 36-year-old Austin Henderson, killed himself after a seven-hour standoff with law enforcement, police say.
Cowan said Henderson was in the upper level of a house tracking police with a rifle when officers arrived in response to a domestic violence call Sunday. Police had already cuffed one man on the lawn, a family friend who met officers when they arrived at the scene. He was not charged with a crime.
A woman called police from the house using her Apple Watch at 2:48 a.m. Sunday, Cowan said. Bar was the second officer to arrive at the scene just moments later. When shots rang out, Barr was struck, “killing him immediately,” Cowan said. Three other responding officers moved Barr to cover and attempted to render aid as they waited for backup.
Inside the house, Henderson had forced his wife and daughter into a closet while he entered into what became a protracted siege with multiple law enforcement agencies. The wife and daughter “were victims here too,” Cowan said.
Sunday’s fatal shooting continues to be investigated by the S.C. Law Enforcement Division.
Barr had been with Cayce’s police for nearly six years. He previously worked as both an EMT and a firefighter in Lexington County.
“I want people to remember Drew and remember his service,” Cowan said, referencing Barr’s involvement with various public safety agencies. He started working for Cayce police in 2016, and worked as a patrol officer, a traffic safety officer and finally a K9 handler, which Cowan said was Barr’s true passion.
A week before his death, Barr had asked his superior for more responsibilities, Cowan added.
“He wanted to know how he could improve his career, how he could continue to get better,” the chief said.
Barr is survived by his parents and a sister, according to Barr’s obituary from Caughman-Harman Funeral Home.
A visitation is planned from 3 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. Thursday at Batesburg-Leesville High School, followed by a public memorial service at 5 p.m. and then a private burial at Mt. Ebal Baptist Church. Barr grew up and still lived in the nearby community of Monetta, a town of around 200 people where Barr served in the volunteer fire department.
Barr was described by colleagues as someone dedicated to serving as many people as he could in whatever way he could. He was certified in three different public safety fields — police, fire and EMT — and continued to volunteer at the firehouse in Monetta after he started working in Cayce.
People in the area have said, “If you need to call 911, don’t bother, just call Drew,” Cowan said.
Barr had spent the past year as a K9 officer working alongside Molly, a 6-year-old black labrador retriever trained to sniff out narcotics. Barr was the second Cayce officer to work with Molly, whom Cowan said will continue to be an asset to the department.
In the aftermath of Sunday’s shooting, Cowan warned that fake GoFundMe accounts purporting to support Barr’s family have appeared. The only fundraising efforts sanctioned by the family are one on GoFundMe by family friend Jason Flynt and money collected by the Cayce Public Safety Foundation.
Cowan warned those collecting money under false pretenses, “we will prosecute you.”
Cowan thanked other law enforcement agencies for their support as Cayce’s officers grieve Barr’s loss. He was joined for Tuesday’s news conference at Cayce City Hall by West Columbia Police Chief Marion Boyce, Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook, Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon and Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott.
Reporter Morgan Hughes contributed.
This story was originally published April 26, 2022 at 3:16 PM.
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