2 dead, 4 injured after gunman opens fire on city water employees in Spartanburg
Two people died and four others were injured Thursday in a shooting and ensuing standoff with law enforcement in Spartanburg, South Carolina, officials said.
Two city water employees, a sheriff’s deputy and an adult woman were shot during the altercation but are expected to survive. A service worker and another man believed to be the shooter died, the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
The sheriff’s office identified the suspected shooter as 45-year-old Shannon Earl Smith.
The service worker was identified as 49-year-old Perry James McIntyre, of Landrum. McIntyre was a Charter Communications employee who was working inside the house at the time, the Spartanburg County Coroner’s Office said Friday.
“We are devastated by the loss of our co-worker, and our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time,” Charter Communications said in a statement, according to WSPA. “We are working with the Greenville County Sheriff as they investigate this tragic incident.”
The shooting occurred around 2:30 p.m. near Cleveland Park while a team was working to repair a sewer main, Jennifer Candler, spokesperson for Spartanburg Water, told WYFF.
A man walked up, asked them what they were doing and started shooting, according to the TV station.
The two city employees were taken to Spartanburg Regional Hospital, WSPA reported. In a tweet just before 8 p.m., Spartanburg Water said they were “in good condition.”
“We are grateful for the incredible work done today by Spartanburg law enforcement officials and first responders,” Spartanburg Water said in a follow-up tweet. “Our hearts are with all those impacted by today’s senseless acts of violence, and we continue to hold them in our thoughts and prayers.”
Law enforcement was called to the scene after the city employees were shot, Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright told media outlets during a news conference Thursday.
“We really don’t know what triggered anything or what happened before we got there,” he said.
The suspect barricaded himself inside his house on Amelia Street and a standoff with law enforcement ensued, according to the Greenville County sheriff’s office.
Major Art Littlejohn with the Spartanburg Police Department said they believed someone might be hurt inside, prompting law enforcement to try entering the house.
“During that time shots were fired,” Littlejohn told reporters. “Of course, shots were returned.”
A sheriff’s deputy was hit in the gunfire. Wright said Littlejohn “literally tore one of the banisters down, threw our deputy in the car and got him to the hospital.”
The deputy was shot twice in the arm and is expected to survive, Fox Carolina reported.
The standoff ended shortly before 5:30 p.m., Wright said.
“It’s a crazy thing — but we just don’t know what started it,” the sheriff said.
The Spartanburg City Police Department, the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office and the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division responded to the shooting. Because of their involvement, Wright said the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office was asked to investigate.
In a statement Friday, the sheriff’s office said the investigation is “still in its very early stages.”
“With multiple law enforcement agencies involved there are many moving parts to this investigation and we ask for patience as investigators carefully sort through all of the available evidence and conduct a very thorough investigation into the matter,” the sheriff’s office said.
This story was originally published July 1, 2021 at 6:06 PM.
