Associated Press
SPARTANBURG, S.C. — A police officer in South Carolina likely saved the lives of four or five deputies by shooting and killing a “very heavily armed” man after something went wrong during an undercover operation, a sheriff said Saturday.
Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright said the shooting happened around 7 p.m. Friday at a home in Landrum. Undercover officers called in uniform deputies after “something didn’t go right,” the sheriff added.
Wright released few details about the shooting, including the names of the dead person and the officer and the exact location where it took place. He said he was waiting for the coroner’s office to notify the dead person’s family.
The sheriff turned the investigation over to the State Law Enforcement Division.
Wright said the man pointed a gun at officers who were in uniform and identified themselves. He described the dead man as “very heavily armed,” but did not elaborate.
“Just on what I saw when I went to the scene, the officers didn’t do anything wrong. They were being threatened,” Wright said. “I know the officer that was involved in the shooting probably saved four or five officers.”
The sheriff also wouldn’t talk about why undercover officers were checking on the man, only saying they were “doing a check on some activities he was involved in.”
The officer and the man killed were both white, Wright said.
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