7 law enforcement officers shot, 1 fatally in South Carolina shooting; suspect, officer identified

FLORENCE, S.C. — Law enforcement officials have identified the man they say shot seven members of law enforcement killing one.

Florence County Sheriff said that Fred Hopkins, 74, opened fire and shot the officers , WMBF reported. He is in custody.

Update 3:15 p.m. EDT Oct. 4: Two of the three police officers who were wounded in the shootout were released from the hospital Thursday, WCSC reported.

A third officer with the city of Florence remains hospitalized. Three sheriff's deputies were also shot and wounded, WCSC reported.

Update 9:23 a.m. EDT Oct. 4: The man police said shot and killed one police officer and wounded six others was a disbarred lawyer and had faced a disorderly conduct charge in the past.

The Associated Press reported that Hopkins faced the disorderly conduct charge in 2014, and had additional charges filed against him in 2015 and 2017 for "running at large" a charge that is connected to not restraining a person's pets.

Hopkins, according to public records uncovered by the AP, is married to a Florence divorce attorney, Cheryl Turner-Hopkins.

Florence County Chief Deputy Glenn Kirby said Hopkins has been hospitalized with a head injuries and is not able to speak with officers because of what is characterized as "multiple health issues," WMBF reported.

Police said Hopkins was not the person they were serving a warrant on for a sexual assault of a minor investigation, WMBF reported.

Update 8:57 a.m. EDT Oct. 4: Florence County Sheriff said that Fred Hopkins, 74, opened fire and shot the officers , WMBF reported. He is in custody.

NBC News reported that officers had tried to serve a search warrant in connection to a sexual assault investigation when the man began shooting. The man's adult son was also wounded in the gunfire exchange, but NBC News reported it was unclear who wounded him.

Officials have also identified the officer who was killed as Terrence Carraway, a 30-year veteran of the law enforcement, WCSC reported.

Florence Police Chief Allen Heidler said of Carraway's death, "Today will mark a very horrific day for the Florence Police Department. Today we lost a good friend of mine, an officer that I have known for 30 years.

Three sheriff's deputies were wounded, two were listed in critical condition and the third was stable with a gunshot wound to the leg, NBC News reported.

Three police officers were also shot, one had a graze wound to the head and is paralyzed on one side. A second was listed in stable condition, while a third who was shot in the thumb, was treated and released, NBC News reported.

Original report: Seven law enforcement officers were shot, one fatally, while responding to an incident in Florence, South Carolina, on Wednesday.

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Three officers from the Florence County Sheriff's Office and three from Florence city police were shot in a subdivision when a suspect opened fire, according to WPDE-TV.

Florence County Coroner Keith von Lutcken said the dead officer was a member of the city police department.

The six wounded officers were transported to area hospitals and are undergoing treatment.

The suspect, who also suffered gunshot wounds, was taken into custody and is at an area hospital.

City spokesman John Wukela said that city police, who were working with the Sheriff’s Office, were responding to an incident in the area when they came under fire.

Authorities said the shootings occurred in Vintage Place, an upscale neighborhood in the western part of the city.

Florence, a city in South Carolina’s northeastern corner that is home to roughly 37,000 people, sits at the convergence of Interstates 95 and 20. It’s the largest city in the region known as the Pee Dee, an area recently affected by heavy flooding in the wake of Hurricane Florence.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Cox Media Group