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South Carolina shooting: one officer killed and four injured in Florence county South Carolina shooting: one officer killed and six injured in Florence county
(about 1 hour later)
Authorities say five South Carolina law enforcement officers have been shot during an active shooter incident in Florence county. Seven law enforcement officers were shot, one fatally, in a confrontation Wednesday with a suspect who held children hostage in a South Carolina home, authorities said.
According to county coroner Keith von Lutcken, one officer was killed, local media reported. Information on the condition of the other four officers was not immediately available. The suspect was taken into custody after a two-hour standoff.
Authorities said that officers from two local police forces, three deputies from the Florence county sheriff’s office and two city officers, were those involved in the shooting. The gunfire erupted in an upscale neighborhood of Florence, a city of about 37,000 people still reeling from heavy flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence’s strike on the Carolinas last month.
Florence county Emergency Management said in a Facebook post that the suspect had been taken into custody in the Vintage Place neighbourhood. A Florence city spokesman, John Wukela, gave an updated total of officers felled by gunfire, speaking at an emotional news conference.
“The active shooting situation is over and the suspect is in custody. We are asking everyone to stay away from Vintage Place as there is still an active crime investigation in progress,” the agency said. Maj Mike Nunn, with the Florence county sheriff’s department, said officers were serving a warrant when the suspect began shooting, wounding three deputies. The deputies had to be removed using a bulletproof vehicle.
Further details were not immediately available. Then, four Florence police officers were shot while trying to respond to the initial gunfire, said Allen Heidler, the Florence police chief. It was one of Heidler’s officers who was killed during the confrontation.
More to follow… “I want you to pray for the family who lost the bravest police officer I have ever known,” Heidler said, visibly overcome by emotion at the news conference.
Nunn said the suspect held off police for two hours holding children hostage in his home before eventually being taken into custody. He would not release the suspect’s name or condition and other details were not immediately disclosed.
Condolences and outpourings of support rolled in at news of the shooting.
Donald Trump said in tweet Wednesday: “My thoughts and prayers are with the Florence County Sheriff’s Office and the Florence Police Department tonight, in South Carolina.”
He added: “We are forever grateful for what our Law Enforcement Officers do 24/7/365.” 
“This is simply devastating news from Florence,” the governor, Henry McMaster, tweeted. “The selfless acts of bravery from the men and women in law enforcement is real, just like the power of prayer is real.”
Authorities said the shootings happened in Vintage Place, an upscale neighborhood in the western part of the city.
South CarolinaSouth Carolina
Gun crimeGun crime
US policingUS policing
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