|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
by ERIN PARROTT
***
Agents with the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) are investigating an officer-involved shooting that left one person dead and a Hardeeville police officer injured late last week in Jasper County.
On Friday (January 23, 2026) officers with the Hardeeville Police Department (HPD) responded to a call for service at the Super 8 Motel on Whyte Hardee Boulevard involving a person attempting to enter parked vehicles, according to a news release from the statewide agency.
Officers subsequently encountered a man matching the suspect’s description in the parking lot of a Shell gas station next to the motel, the release noted. Police identified the individual as the same person reportedly trying to enter vehicles at the Super 8.
During the ensuing encounter, an altercation occurred and gunfire was exchanged.
***
Both the suspect and a Hardeeville police officer were shot and transported to a hospital for treatment. The suspect later died from his injuries – and was identified by the Jasper County coroner’s office as 19-year-old Jayden Jerome Holloway-Caldwell.
The Hardeeville police officer is still recovering from his injuries.
In keeping with standard protocol in the vast majority of local law enforcement jurisdictions in the Palmetto State, SLED was requested to investigate the shooting by HPD.
Per the agency, its goal is to conduct a thorough, independent criminal investigation in as timely a manner as is possible under the circumstances – interviewing all potential witnesses, collecting relevant evidence and forensically testing such evidence as needed. Information gathered during the course of the investigation will be summarized in a case file report submitted to prosecutors.
Friday’s incident marks the fourth officer-involved shooting in South Carolina in 2026 and the first such incident involving HPD this year. In 2025, SLED recorded 45 officer-involved shootings statewide, with none involving HPD.
Count on FITSNews for any pertinent updates related to this case…
***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Erin Parrott is a Greenville, S.C. native who graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2025 with a bachelor degree in broadcast journalism. Got feedback or a tip for Erin? Email her here.
***
WANNA SOUND OFF?
Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to address proactively? We have an open microphone policy! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.
