How often do officer-involved shootings happen in Lexington County?
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is investigating the first officer-involved shooting in Lexington County this year, according to a release from the agency.
In 2025, so far, there have been 40 shootings that’ve involved police officers. Police officers with the Batesburg-Leesville Police Department were called to Enmarket gas station in West Columbia about a robbery, according to a news release from the agency, also known as SLED.
The release said the suspect took an officer’s taser and used it against the officer.
“The subject also tried to get possession of the officer’s gun, and during the encounter the gun discharged,” the release read, noting that no one was struck. It’s unclear who fired the gun, based on the release. The suspect and two officers were transported to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, the release said.
The shooting is the first involving a police officer in Lexington County this year. Earlier this year, in July, a federal agent exchanged gunfire with a person in Batesburg-Leesville, but in an area of town that is located in Saluda County.
More than a fifth, or eight in total, officer-involved shootings across the state this year have taken place in Greenville County, according to SLED’s database of news releases.
Since 2021, the state agency has investigated six officer-involved shootings in the county, according to previous news releases – one in 2024, two in 2023, one in 2022 and two in 2021.
