Coroner identifies teen shot, killed by Seneca police

The Oconee County Coroner’s Office has identified the 19-year-old suspect who was shot and killed by a Seneca police officer Sunday evening.

Coroner Karl Addis said Zachary Hammond, of Seneca, was killed after being shot twice in the upper body. An autopsy will be performed Tuesday morning to determine the exact cause of death.

Addis said the shooting occurred in a fast food parking lot located at 1033 By Pass 123 in Seneca just before 8:30 p.m.

A preliminary investigation of the incident reported the shooting stemmed from an undercover drug investigation being conducted by the Seneca Police Department. Hammond was allegedly attempting to evade a traffic stop in the parking lot of the business.

Officials said Hammond drove his car toward the officer who was attempting to make the stop. The officer felt threatened by Hammond’s actions and then fired his weapon twice striking Hammond in the upper body, according to Addis.

South Carolina Law Enforcement Division officials have been called in to investigate the shooting. The Seneca officer has been placed on leave while the investigation continues.

This is the 28th officer-involved shooting that SLED has investigated in 2015. There were 27 cases SLED investigated through this time in 2014 and a total of 42 throughout the year.

This story was originally published July 27, 2015 at 8:56 AM.