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SLED investigating Lancaster County officer-involved shooting

According to SLED, one man was shot and wounded in a confrontation with officers from the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office after a domestic incident.
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Police car on the street at night

LANCASTER, S.C. — The S.C. Law Enforcement Division is investigating an officer involved shooting Friday night in Lancaster County. 

According to SLED, one man was shot and wounded in a confrontation with officers from the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office after a domestic incident.  

According to the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office, after 10 p.m. on Friday, January 24, Lancaster County Public Safety Communications received a call about shots fired at a townhome. 

Joshua James Hendricks III, 33, was armed with a handgun and assaulted a 34-year-old female victim. According to the report, Hendricks is her estranged boyfriend. Hendricks walked outside and the victim locked him out. He fired shots through the door from the outside and was able to reenter the home.  

Shortly after deputies arrived the victim, her child, and her mother were able to slip out of the home to safety, unnoticed by Hendricks. Deputies entered the home to take Hendricks into custody, and Hendricks fired his weapon at the deputies.  Deputies returned fire, and Hendricks was struck by gunfire. 

Hendricks sustained non-life threatening injuries and was transported to a nearby hospital. He will face charges and be taken into custody when he is medically cleared for incarceration. 

According to the report, the victim sustained injuries from the assault and was treated at the scene by EMS. The child and his grandmother were not injured. No officers were injured during the incident.

The officers who fired their weapons will be placed on paid administrative leave while the investigation is conducted also pursuant to sheriff’s office policy.

This is an ongoing investigation.

The incident in Lancaster County was the third officer involved shooting in South Carolina in 2020 and the first this year involving the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office. In 2019, there were 45 officer involved shootings in South Carolina; one involved the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office.

Anyone with information about this or any other case should call the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office at 803-283-3388 or contact Midlands Crimestoppers in one of the following ways:  dial 888-CRIME-SC (888-274-6372), log onto www.midlandscrimestoppers.com and click on the “Submit a Tip” tab, or download the P3 Tips App for Apple or Android devices.

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