Barricaded, Armed Man Shot After Setting Home On Fire, Shooting At SC Deputies, Police Say

A Florence County, South Carolina man was shot after he barricaded himself, set a home on fire, and fired shots at deputies, according to the Florence County Sheriff’s Office.

Officials at the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) are investigating the incident.

Last night, Florence County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the intersection of Hicks Road and Factory Street in Coward, South Carolina. A man barricaded inside a home was threatening to set the house on fire and shoot.

When deputies arrived on scene, the man followed through with his threats. He set fire to the home and shot at deputies multiple times, according to SLED.

Florence County deputies then returned fire and shot the suspect, according to the sheriff’s office.

The suspect was taken to the local hospital for his injury. No officers were injured in the shooting.

Authorities have not released the name of the suspect.

The Florence County Sheriff’s Office asked SLED to investigate the incident.

This is the seventh officer-involved shooting in South Carolina this year.

South Carolina saw a record-tying 49 officer-involved shootings in 2020, according to a news release from the State Law Enforcement Division. That matches the mark set in 2017 – and continues a troubling escalation of this metric.

SLED investigates officer-involved shootings as a matter of protocol in the vast majority of local law enforcement jurisdictions in the Palmetto State – presenting independent, investigative reports to the solicitor with jurisdiction over the county or municipality where the shooting transpired.

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