Man looked deputy in eye before shooting woman, leading to shootout, SC cops say
Two people were hospitalized following a recent shooting that also involved a sheriff’s deputy, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said Monday night.
The shooting happened Sunday afternoon, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office said.
At about 4:25 p.m. Sunday, deputies responded to a 911 call about a man holding a woman at gunpoint in the yard of a home on Rhea Drive, the sheriff’s office said in an incident report. That’s in a part of Sumter between U.S. 521 and U.S. 378.
The first deputy to arrive at the home where the domestic disturbance was reported found an armed man in the front yard, along with a woman who had been shot by the armed man, according to SLED.
The deputy ordered the man to drop his gun, which was still pointed at the injured woman, the sheriff’s office said.
The armed man acknowledged the deputy by making eye contact with him, then pulled the trigger and shot the woman in the chest, according to the incident report.
To protect the woman from further harm, the deputy shot at the armed man, the incident report says. The armed man then shot at the deputy, before he was “was shot multiple times and the threat was stopped,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
Sumter Police Department officers also arrived at the home and helped detain the armed man and provide medical aid to both him and the woman, the incident report shows.
Both the armed man and the woman were airlifted in a helicopter to an area hospital and remained there as of Monday night, officials said.
The armed man was listed in critical condition, while the woman was in serious but stable condition, according to the sheriff’s office.
Neither the deputy nor any other law enforcement officers who responded to the scene were injured, according to SLED.
The sheriff’s office asked SLED to lead an investigation into the shooting, which it said was standard protocol when a law enforcement officer is involved. But Sheriff Anthony Dennis came to the defense of his deputy.
“I have requested our State Law Enforcement Division to investigate this incident,” Dennis said in the release. “However, after reviewing the evidence, it is my belief that my deputy acted appropriately to stop the threat to himself and the victim in this case and his courageous act saved the life of the victim.”
There was no word if the deputy involved in the shooting had been temporarily reassigned during the investigation.
SLED said this was the ninth time this year that a law enforcement officer was involved in a shooting. It was the first such shooting involving the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, which was had one similar shooting incident in 2025, according to SLED.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREThis is a breaking news story
In a breaking news situation, facts can be unclear and the situation may still be developing. The State is trying to get important information to the public as quickly and accurately as possible. This story will be updated as more information becomes available, and some information in this story may change as the facts become clearer. Refresh this page later for more updated information.
