What appear to be bullet holes can be seen in the door of this Columbia police crusier.
Police responded to the intersection of King Street and Wilmot Street on April 27, 2011.
Alexander Broder (Image: CPD)
The officer assigned to this vehicle was injured in a morning shooting on April 27, 2011.
Columbia, SC (WLTX) -- Columbia police say they fatally shot a suspect who they say approached them armed with an AK-47, hours after they say he shot a police officer.
Columbia Police Chief Randy Scott addressed the media around 11 a.m. Wednesday with an update.
Scott says at 4:50 Wednesday morning, they got a 911 call that a person was being followed by a suspicous person in vehicle. When officers tried to pull the suspect over, they say he fired at the two officers in the car on the corner of Wilmot and King Streets in Columbia.
The officer, who's identified as Alexander Broder, was hit 'center mass' in the chest, according to Scott. The chief says the wound would have been fatal if not for the fact that the officer was wearing a bulletproof vest.
The suspect then drove away from the scene.
The officer was taken to the hospital where he is recovering. Also, a woman was transported by an ambulance away from the scene.
Authorities shut down Blossom and Woodrow Streets Wednesday morning to look for the suspect. He was eventually tracked down to a home in the 2700 block of Blossom Street.
Scott says police negotiators talked to him for about an hour to convince him to come outside. According to police, the man agreed, but then came out of the house armed with an AK-47 rifle and fire shots at police. In response, Scott says his officers returned fire, killing the suspect.
Scott identified the suspect as 22-year-old Blakely Jernigan. It's unclear if the AK-47 was also used to shoot Broder.
"My heart goes out to the family of the man who shot at the officers," Scott said.
Because this is an officer-involved incident, the State Law Enforcement Division is investigating. SLED Director Reggie Lloyd said a bomb squad was at the suspect's home removing suspicious packages. Lloyd said it was unclear if those devices were actually harmful.
Scott says Broder, who'd moved to Columbia recently from another state, had only been on the streets for CPD for five days. Scott says he has spoken to the officer, and that he was doing fine and was eager to return to duty.