West Columbia, SC 01/17/2022 (Paul Kirby) – Officers with the West Columbia Police Department (WCPD), along with law enforcement personnel from partner agencies, have been dealing with a suspect they say has barricaded himself in a room at the Hilton Gardens Inn in the city Tuesday afternoon. As the day and the situation progressed, commanders from West Columbia have had to make some difficult but necessary decisions to protect the public, their officers, and the suspect who has reportedly fired his weapon at some point during this standoff.
Police incident commanders first made the decision to close McSwain Drive at Sunset Boulevard early on. The two roads intersect near the I-26 on and off ramps to Sunset Boulevard close to the Denny’s restaurant. Closing this intersection certainly affected traffic however, when officers consider the safety of everyone in the area, it made that decision much easier to make.
Later, at the request of the WCPD, officers from Lexington Medical Center’s Police Department, the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, and the SC Highway Patrol worked with the WCPD command staff to close Sunset Boulevard from the entrance of LMC to Chris Drive at the McDonald’s and Salsarita. As the situation progressed, the decision was then made to close a section of I-26 that runs past the hospital, the hotel, and the armed man. Troopers assisted significantly with this closure as WCPD continue to work to bring the situation at the hotel with the gunman under control.
At 3:45 p.m., West Columbia was using their social media pages to request that motorist and the public avoid that area completely if possible. The SCDOT, along with troopers and other agencies, have set up detours and are using the large interstate message boards, portable boards, cones, and other traffic devices to direct travelers who may have inadvertently been entangled in traffic by the closures.
This is an ongoing situation and will take more time to bring it to a satisfactory and safe conclusion. It remains to be seen if the gunman will allow this to happen or if he will eventually force the police's hand. Please continue to check for updates as the afternoon and evening progresses.
Commentaires