Wednesday, March 6, 2019
Florence, South Carolina shooting
On October 3, 2018, seven law enforcement officers were shot and five civilians were injured in Florence, South Carolina, United States. Two officers were killed.
Incident: Officers arrived at the home of Fredrick Hopkins, to serve a search warrant for adopted son, Seth Hopkins, for sexual assault. At about 4:30 pm EDT the suspect opened fire at officers. According to the Richland County Sheriff the officers were ambushed by the suspect, and that is when three officers exited their vehicle to walk to the house, they were shot at without warning. Florence County Emergency Management Officials said reports of "shots fired and officer down" were issued and responded to at 4:37 EDT, and that the suspect had barricaded himself inside the home with an unspecified number of children. Owing to the number of rounds being fired at officers it took officers about 30 minutes to get an armored vehicle close to evacuate the wounded officers.
Victims: Two female Florence County Deputies and three Florence City Police officers were wounded, with an armored vehicle utilized as a method to rescue downed officers during the shoot-out. An individual inside the home was also shot according to local reporters, with four other civilians reported as being injured. The slain officers were identified as Sgt. Terrance Carraway, 52 years old and a 30-year veteran of the Florence Police Department and Investigator Farrah Turner, 36 years old and a 12 year veteran of the Florence County Sheriff's Office.
Suspects-
Fred Hopkins: The suspect, 74-year old Fred Hopkins, a Vietnam War veteran and a former lawyer who was disbarred in 1982, was arrested at the scene before being taken to the hospital for a head injury. On October 5, police charged Hopkins with one count of murder and six counts of attempted murder. A magistrate denied bond for Fred Hopkins on the murder count and the attempted murder charges so that a global bond could be applied to all charges on a later date.
Seth Hopkins: Seth Hopkins, Fred Hopkins' adopted son, who was subject to the initial search warrant before the incident, was charged with criminal sexual conduct with a minor between the ages of 11 and 14. The warrant, released on October 11, detailed that Seth Hopkins had engaged with sexual intercourse, activity/fondling and comments to a female child on several occasions between September 2017 and October 2018.
Aftermath-
Investigation: The Richland County Sheriff's Office of Columbia, SC, took over the investigation on October 4, and 25 agents from the FBI Evidence Response Team were at the scene to assist deputies on October 5. The Richland County Sheriff told reporters that the incident would have occurred regardless as; "The officers did absolutely nothing wrong. This was an ambush you can't prevent."
Memorials: Two official crowdfunding campaigns for those wounded were endorsed by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Officers Association, were launched as well as separate campaigns through the City of Florence Police Benevolent Fund and the City of Florence website. Neighborhoods utilized blue light bulbs and flags to honor the deceased and injured victims, and food deliveries were sent to the families of officers who were hospitalized. A former officer created a thin blue line American flag that was signed by different police departments across the country, that was to be presented to the family of fallen officer Sgt. Carraway.
Labels:
criminal justice
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