Oak Grove, SC 06/21/2023 (Paul Kirby) – Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said around 2:45 p.m. this afternoon during a press briefing that one person is dead following a standoff with law enforcement officers. This incident lasted approximately 8 hours and happened at 121 Montclair Circle off Delree Street Wednesday in the Oak Grove area of Lexington County.
Sheriff Koon said that although the suspect was struck by a round fired by deputies after he first shot at them earlier in the day, he continued to shoot inside his home for some time after he was wounded. This has caused the department to rely on the findings of Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher’s team to determine what the man’s actual cause of death was.
According to Sheriff Koon, several weeks ago, Montclair neighborhood residents called the Sheriff’s Department after the man, who Koon said appears to have descended into a mental health crisis after some recent struggles in his personal life, pointed a firearm at them. Deputies responded, took a report, and then passed that onto investigators who eventually obtained warrants for the man’s arrest. This warrant was based on the charge of Pointing and Presenting a Firearm.
Koon said that for several weeks, deputies had been watching the man’s movements in hopes that they could catch him away from his home where his firearms were kept. Their hope was that they could take him into custody on the warrant without him arming himself. After repeated attempts at this failed, it was decided that they would serve the warrants with a Tactical Team just after daybreak today.
Deputies with that team were able to make contact with the suspect this morning, but he retreated into the home and began firing rounds. Koon did not say at this point that the man was shooting at the deputies. The Tactical Team used technology, including a robot and drones, to gather further information on what was going on inside the home. The man eventually noted this and shot at the robot while it was still outside his home. He then fired at the deputies who returned fire. At least one round from the deputy's gun struck the man around his jaw, and he again retreated into the house and began firing additional rounds. At this point, what he was shooting at wasn't clear.
Sheriff Koon said that for a period of time, things got quiet in the home and the robot was again deployed to check the situation inside. The robot transmitted photos of the man who was down and not moving to the robot’s operator. Deputies then entered the house to secure the scene for an EMS crew. That team had been on standby since the situation started and they were allowed in. That EMS crew confirmed the man was dead and the coroner was notified.
Sheriff Koon said that per his department’s standard operating procedures, the case has been turned over to the SC Law Enforcement Division for investigation because a deputy had discharged his firearm during the incident.
The next update expected would be from Coroner Fisher who is tasked with deciding whether the man died of the round fired by the deputy of if he shot himself.
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