Sheriff's Office: 1 killed, 6 wounded deputies were investigating sex assault
FLORENCE, SC (FOX 46 WJZY/AP) - Authorities have named the suspect they believe shot seven police officers, killing one as they tried to serve a search warrant Wednesday at a home in an upscale Florence neighborhood.
Florence County Chief Deputy Glenn Kirby identified the suspect Thursday as 74-year-old Fred Hopkins. Kirby said Hopkins is hospitalized with a head injury and unable to speak with officers at this time. Hopkins reportedly fell at the scene.
Kirby said officers were trying to serve a warrant Wednesday involving an accusation that a 27-year-old person at the South Carolina home sexually assaulted a foster child in the home.
The shooting broke out around 5 p.m. near the home located on Ashton Drive. Three Florence County deputies and four Florence city police officers were shot by the suspect, Hopkins.
One of the four Florence City Police officers involved died. A source tells FOX 46 the name of the officer killed was Terrence Carraway.
[TERRACE CARRAWAY MEMORIAL FUND]
The Sheriff says a standoff between officers and Hopkins lasted about two hours.
Florence County Emergency Management confirmed that there was an active shooter incident off of Hoffmeyer Rd. near Lucy T. Davis Elementary School. West Florence High School was put on lockdown as a precautionary measure.
Hopkins is a military veteran who received disability payments after being wounded in the Vietnam War, according to a South Carolina Supreme Court ruling in a divorce case involving Hopkins and his ex-wife Carol Hopkins.
The court noted in the year 2000 that Hopkins was injured in the Vietnam War and he was receiving a disability payment of $1,127 a month. Hopkins also was a lawyer, admitted to the South Carolina bar in 1980, but was later disbarred.
[WOUNDED FLORENCE OFFICERS FUND]
Authorities said Fred Hopkins is under arrest in a hospital after falling on his head at some point during the Wednesday standoff.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.