FLORENCE, S.C. _ A veteran Florence police officer was killed and six other law enforcement officers wounded when a sniper with a high-powered rifle opened fire on them Wednesday as they tried to serve a warrant for criminal sexual conduct with a minor.
A disabled Vietnam veteran and disbarred lawyer, 74-year-old Fred Hopkins, is the only suspect in custody in what's believed to be the nation's bloodiest officer shooting since five Dallas police officers were killed and nine wounded on July 7, 2016.
"The way the suspect was positioned, his view of fire was several hundred yards. He had an advantage," said Florence County Sheriff Kenney Boone.
Terrence Carraway, 52, an officer with the Florence Police Department for 30 years, died from his wounds. As of Thursday afternoon, one officer was still in the hospital, officials said. Florence Police Chief Allen Heidler said that officer is in serious but stable condition.
The shooting happened around 5 p.m. Wednesday in the upscale Vintage Point neighborhood, just outside the Florence city limits, on what was said to be an unusually quiet afternoon.
Three Florence County deputies arrived at the Hopkins home to serve the warrant on a 27-year-old man when, officials say, Fred Hopkins opened fire on them.
Four Florence city police officers responded to the scene after the shooting began. They were shot in the process of trying to rescue the other officers, according to Maj. Michael Nunn, spokesman for the Florence County Sheriff's Office.
A two-hour standoff ensued. Children were held hostage inside the home. An armored vehicle arrived to take away the injured officers.
"It seemed like forever, but it was not," Heidler, the police chief, said Thursday afternoon.
Hopkins and his wife, Cheryl, an attorney, had nine adopted children, according to state officials.
A 27-year-old unidentified man also was shot and injured during the standoff, police said. The 27-year-old reportedly was the target of the criminal sexual conduct warrant.
As of late Thursday afternoon, Hopkins still had not been charged, said Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, whose department has been asked to investigate the shooting.
"It's a process that we have to go through," Lott said, and would not elaborate.
Reporters asked Lott whether there are any other suspects. He only reiterated that there is one suspect in custody.
"I don't want to say that at this point," he said. "We do have a suspect in custody, but there is no danger to the community."
That the Florence County sheriff would ask Lott's department rather than the State Law Enforcement Division to investigate has raised eyebrows.
Lott said his department was asked to investigate because the incident is being considered a homicide, "and our officers have that experience." He would not elaborate.
"It's a tragic time for everyone involved," Lott said.
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.
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 for her to get into the house, and Dowdy pulled her 14-year-old son inside. They watched the scene unfold through a 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 brought the armored vehicle in, and I knew it was seriously, seriously an issue."
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 children in the subdivision called and asked if she could check on their families. But Dowdy was stuck in her own home as the standoff unfolded.
Dowdy said she didn't hear any gunshots, but it only took minutes to learn several cops had been shot.
"What is the world coming to? How can this happen in our backyard _ literally in our backyard?" Dowdy said.
The shooting suspect was a disbarred lawyer, according to The Associated Press.
In 2014, Fred Hopkins was charged with public disorderly conduct, according to court records, and also was charged in 2015 for not paying a court-ordered fine. A jury found him guilty of not paying a fine in 2017, records show.
Hopkins served in the Vietnam War, was injured in his time overseas and received military disability, according to court filings and divorce records.
Meredith Todd Taylor, who has lived in the Vintage Point neighborhood for 14 years, knew the Hopkins family.
"I would describe them as a family out of control," she said.
Dowdy said that neighbors had trouble with the children.
A Florence deputy said the victim of the alleged sexual assault was a foster child in the home, WIS-TV reported. 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 longtime family friend of the Hopkinses, said the family 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."
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.
