COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - A sheriff’s deputy in South Carolina answering a domestic violence call shot and wounded a man who opened fire before the officer could get out of his car, authorities said.
Richland County Deputy Josiah McCombs was not hurt, and shot Michael Dennis, 23, in the arm Monday afternoon, Sheriff Leon Lott said at a news conference.
Dennis also tried to take a woman in the Columbia neighborhood hostage, but her husband and McCombs disarmed him, Lott said.
McCombs was the first officer to arrive after a 911 call about domestic violence involving a weapon, Lott said.
After Dennis fired at him, McCombs shot back through his windshield, said Lott, showing pictures of the deputy’s damaged cruiser with a flat tire and at least seven bullet holes in the lower part of the windshield.
Dennis was already facing charges unrelated to Monday’s shooting and will face more charges when he is released from the hospital, Lott said.
McCombs has been a Richland County deputy for two years, the sheriff said.
A special team from the Richland County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the shooting. The agency is the only local department in South Carolina in recent years to not turn police shooting investigations over to the State Law Enforcement Division.
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