FLORENCE, S.C. _ Florence County sheriff's deputies went to a house in a suburban neighborhood to serve a warrant Wednesday afternoon but were instead met with gunfire, authorities said. One law enforcement officer died and six others were injured.
The shooter has been identified as 74-year-old Fred Hopkins.
Terrence Carraway, 52, an officer with the Florence Police Department for 30 years, died from his wounds. As of Thursday afternoon, one officer is still in the hospital, officials said. Florence Police Chief Allen Heidler said that officer is in serious but stable condition.
Two other police officers were released from the hospital with injuries that are not life-threatening, the chief said. Three sheriff's deputies also were injured, but Heidler did not know their exact conditions.
Police say the standoff lasted about two hours in the upscale Vintage Point neighborhood just outside the Florence, S.C., city limits.
A 27-year-old man was also shot, authorities say.
Five Florence County deputies were at the house to serve a warrant for criminal sexual conduct with a minor, according to Florence County solicitor E.L. Clements. The warrant was being served on the 27-year-old who was shot, according to reports. Another deputy and two sex crimes investigators were also there when the shooting began, the reports said.
One witness's account
Ann Dowdy lives near the entrance of the subdivision and was home around 4 p.m. She was preparing to return to work and took her dog, Max, for a walk.
"It was a normal day," Dowdy said. "It was a more peaceful day than normal."
She walked along Stockdown Drive, a few blocks from the Hopkins house. The area was quiet and there were no police around.
Neighbors had problems with the kids who lived in the Hopkins house, and some were previously arrested and served jail time, Dowdy said.
Around 4:30, she returned home and was getting into her car when a string of police cruisers sped down the street, she said.
Police officers yelled to get into the house, and Dowdy pulled her 14-year-old son inside. They watched what happened from their window.
"It was just like, 'Boom, boom, boom,' all at one time. A flood of law enforcement over and over and over and over," Dowdy said. "Then I saw ambulances. Then they brought the SWAT team in. Then they bought the armored vehicle in, and I knew it was seriously, seriously an issue."
Florence Sheriff's Office Maj. Mike Nunn said his department had to use an armored vehicle to rescue the injured officers.
"The way the suspect was positioned, his view of fire was several hundred yards. He had an advantage," Nunn told the New York Times.
State Sen. Hugh K. Leatherman, who represents the area, told the Times that the suspect fired at officers with a "high-powered rifle" from a second-floor window of the home.
After 15 minutes, Dowdy said, she got a text message that said there was an active shooter in the neighborhood. Friends started to call to check on her safety. Parents of other kids in the development called and asked if she could check on their families. But Dowdy was stuck in her own home as the standoff unfolded.
The entire timeline was a blur, Dowdy said, but it only took minutes to learn several cops were shot. She did not hear any of the gunshots.
"What is the world coming to? How can this happen in our backyard _ literally in our backyard?" Dowdy said.
She said police never came back to tell them it was safe to leave, but after a few hours they knew. It's now quiet Thursday in the subdivision, Dowdy said, but her adrenaline is still pumping.
Who is Fred Hopkins, the suspected shooter?
The Associated Press reported the shooting suspect was a disbarred lawyer. He is married to Cheryl Hopkins, an attorney in Florence.
In 2014, Fred Hopkins was charged with public disorderly conduct, according to court records. Records also show that he had criminal charges brought against him in 2015 for not paying a court-ordered fine. A jury found him guilty of not paying a fine in 2017, records show.
Divorce records show Fred Hopkins served in the Vietnam War. He was injured in his time overseas and received military disability, according to court filings.
Meredith Todd Taylor, who lived in the neighborhood for 14 years and knew the Hopkins family, said in an interview Wednesday night that there were normally at least 10 children in the home. "I would describe them as a family out of control," she said.
Taylor's daughter went to school with some of the younger Hopkins children.
Taylor had said that many of the younger kids in the Hopkins house were foster children. However, none of the children living in the Hopkins' home were foster children, according to Pam Bryant, spokesperson for the South Carolina Department of Social Services.
Judy Gibson, who said she was a long-time family friend of the Hopkins, said the Hopkinses had nine children who all were adopted at birth. Gibson, who used to clean the Hopkinses' home and law office, said she used to babysit for them.
Gibson said the Hopkinses were a loving family who mostly kept to themselves.
"I loved those kids like they were our own," she said, adding, "Why this tragedy happened? I cannot answer that. I am still in shock."
"Everyone knew there were many guns in the home," Taylor said of the Hopkins family.
"Whenever there was crime in the neighborhood, the police were knocking on their door. The older boys were always associated with crime," she said replying to questions Thursday via a messaging app.
Support for fallen officer
Support for the fallen officer poured in from officials and police departments around the county.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said in a Wednesday evening Tweet: "This is simply devastating news from Florence. The selfless acts of bravery from the men and women in law enforcement is real, just like the power of prayer is real." The governor added, "Peggy and I ask that you pray for them, pray for their recovery, pray for their families, and pray for all of Florence."
President Donald Trump said on Twitter: "My thoughts and prayers are with the Florence County Sheriff's Office and the Florence Police Department tonight, in South Carolina. We are forever grateful for what our Law Enforcement Officers do 24/7/365."
McMaster on Thursday ordered "flags across South Carolina will be lowered to half-staff as a mark of respect for the law enforcement officers who were senselessly shot in Florence yesterday," the governor said on Twitter.
