BLUFFTON, S.C. (AP) - A South Carolina sheriff’s deputy shot and wounded a man who tried to attack the deputy with a pipe before dawn Sunday, officials said.
The shooting happened around 3:30 a.m. at a Bluffton mobile home park as Beaufort County deputies were responding to a reported disturbance.
The man tried to assault the deputy with the metal pipe, with the officer then shooting the man twice, according to a statement from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. The statement says the wounded man “continued to be combative” after he was shot, and was restrained after more deputies arrived. The wounded man was taken to a hospital in Savannah. There was no further word on his condition.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is investigating, and the deputy has been placed on leave pending an internal review by the sheriff’s office.
It’s South Carolina’s 15th officer-involved shooting so far this year. The state had 45 such shootings in 2019.
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