Man held 3-year-old daughter hostage in car at SC gas station before shooting self

A Sunday hostage situation at a South Carolina Pilot Station ended with a man shooting himself in the head.

A man, who was armed, held his 3-year-old daughter hostage inside a vehicle in the parking lot of the Pilot Station located off Exit 82 on I-95, at Charleston Highway near Harleyville, according to the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office.

When a tactical team removed the little girl from the car, the man shot himself, according to Major Tony Phinney. The man was taken to an area hospital, but there is no word on his condition.

The little girl was safely removed from the vehicle.

Sheriff’s deputies responded to a domestic violence situation around 2 p.m. Sunday, according to Phinney, who said the situation began Saturday evening when the family traveling from Florida to New Jersey stopped because their car broke down.

The domestic situation got “worse and worse as the day went on,” according to Phinney, saying the man eventually barricaded himself inside his vehicle with the 3-year-old.

“He was making threats to child, threats to himself, threats to law enforcement,” Phinney said.

A hostage negotiator was brought in to help to deescalate the situation, but when that failed the sheriff’s office turned to the tactical team to safely get the suspect and child separated and out of the vehicle.

A series of loud noises was part of the tactical team’s effort to distract the man, which was successful, as they removed the child from the vehicle. Phinney said she was safe and unharmed.

Alone, the man reportedly turned the gun on himself, with Phinney saying he suffered a “self-inflicted gunshot wound.”

Phinney didn’t specify what charges the man could face, but did say kidnapping would be among them should the man be healthy enough to leave the hospital.

This is a developing story, check back for updates.

This story was originally published March 4, 2018 at 6:13 PM with the headline "Man held 3-year-old daughter hostage in car at SC gas station before shooting self."