Standoff ends with deputies killing man who opened fire on them, sheriff’s department says
An hours-long standoff ended Monday when deputies shot and killed a man after he opened fire on them, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department said.
On Wednesday, the Richland County Coroner’s Office identified the man as 40-year-old Columbia resident Antonio L. Worthy.
The incident at a home on Two Notch Road started at about 8:55 a.m., according to Deputy Chief Maria Yturria.
A power company employee went to the home to do work there when a man from the house came out pointing a gun at the employee, Yturria said during a news conference. The man told the worker to “get off the property,” and she complied, then called 911, according to Yturria.
Two deputies arrived at the scene and were met outside by the man who was belligerently screaming at them, “speaking profanities and telling them to get off the property,” Yturria said.
The man then went inside the home, and as the deputies attempted again to contact the man, he came out of the house and fired multiple shots from a pistol at the deputies, according to Yturria.
The deputies held their ground and called for backup, which soon arrived along with negotiators, Yturria said. The sheriff’s department evacuated people from homes and businesses in the area during the standoff, according to Yturria.
The negotiations were conducted via public address and phone for roughly an hour, but the man was not responsive, other than when he came outside of the home and displayed his gun before returning indoors, according to Yturria.
The department’s special response team arrived on the scene and tried negotiating before attempting to approach the home, according to Yturria. That prompted the man to come out and point his gun at deputies, before again going back inside, Yturria said.
The man then came back out, but this time he started firing at the deputies, and five or six of the law enforcement officers returned fire, according to Yturria.
The man was shot and taken to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead, Yturria said.
The Richland County Coroner’s Office has not publicly identified the man.
No other injuries were reported, and Yturria said the man was the only person inside the home.
This is not the first time the sheriff’s department has responded to the home and dealt with the man, according to Yturria.
“He is very well known to us,” Yturria said. She added that the previous incidents “had been aggravated in nature.”
Although the man was taken to the hospital, the situation was ongoing as deputies were investigating some suspicious packages they found inside the home. Further information about the packages was not available.
The combination of the standoff, gunfire and investigation prompted the sheriff’s department to block a stretch of Two Notch Road from Fontaine Road to Faust Street. That’s in the Dentsville area, near Exit 74 on Interstate 20 and Columbia Place Mall.
At about 12:40 p.m., the Columbia Fire Department said the road was reopened and traffic was moving as normal.
In addition to sheriff’s deputies, members of the fire department and Richland County EMS were on standby as the incident developed.
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This story was originally published June 12, 2023 at 10:17 AM.
