7 officers shot, 1 fatally, in South Carolina standoff

FLORENCE, S.C. (AP) — A police officer was killed and six of his comrades were wounded when a man began shooting at deputies who came to serve a search warrant, barricading himself in his home with children and spraying bullets across his upscale suburban neighborhood, authorities said.

The sheriff’s armored personnel carrier was brought in to recover the wounded Wednesday, and the shooter finally released the children as he was taken into custody after a two-hour standoff, authorities said.

“Officers went there unknowing the firepower the suspect had,” Florence County Sheriff Kenney Boone said at a news conference.

“Fire was being shot all over. The way this suspect was positioned, his view of fire was several hundred yards. So he had an advantage. The officers couldn’t get to the ones who were down.”

The violence stunned people already dealing with record flooding from Hurricane Florence. Both the sheriff and police chief cried as they spoke to reporters after the standoff.

The slain officer, Terrence Carraway, 52, of Darlington, had just been honored for his 30 years of service with the Florence Police Department.

“I want you to pray for the family who lost the bravest police officer I have ever known,” said his chief, Allen Heidler.

The suspect opened fire on three Florence County deputies who had come to serve a search warrant around 4 p.m. Wednesday, Boone said.

Then, he shot four Florence city police officers, one fatally, as officers from all over swarmed in to help, Heidler said.

Boone credited his department’s military equipment for enabling them to pull the wounded from the field of fire.

“Thanks to our MRAP, armored personnel carrier, we made sure all the officers that were shot were protected and brought for medical atttention,” he said.

Officials refused to say why they were serving a warrant. They did not name the suspect. They also did not identify the wounded officers or describe their conditions.