Suspect in shooting of 7 officers is Vietnam War veteran, competitive rifleman

A Vietnam War veteran who bragged online about maintaining his target-shooting skills was being held Thursday in the shooting of seven law enforcement officers, one of whom died, as deputies tried to serve a search warrant at his home.

Authorities said Frederick Hopkins opened fire on the deputies from inside the home and held children hostage while shooting long-range at other officers who rushed to the suburban neighborhood.

The Florence County Sheriff’s Office brought in an armored personnel carrier to recover the wounded during Wednesday’s two-hour standoff, and the shooter finally released the children as he was taken into custody, authorities said.

“Officers went there unknowing the firepower the suspect had,” Sheriff Kenney Boone said at a news conference.

“Fire was being shot all over. The way this suspect was positioned, his view of fire was several hundred yards. So he had an advantage. The officers couldn’t get to the ones who were down.”

Records show Hopkins, 74, is a disabled Vietnam War veteran and disbarred lawyer who has faced several charges in recent years, starting with a 2014 count of disorderly conduct.

Authorities have not described what weapons were involved, but Hopkins apparently owned several guns, including an M-14 rifle. A 2014 post on his Facebook page said he celebrated his 70th birthday at a shooting range by repeatedly firing his M-14, set up exactly like the one he used in Vietnam.

“I have been shooting competitively since 1984 and lovin’ it. I just love the smell of gunpowder in the mornin’s,” said the post. Other posts from 2016 show images of rifles set up on what looks like a range, and say he was the “South Carolina 3-Gun Silhouette Champion for 2011.”

The violence stunned people in the area, where many have been dealing with record flooding from Hurricane Florence. Both the sheriff and Florence’s police chief cried as they spoke to reporters after the standoff.

The slain officer, Terrence Carraway, 52, of Darlington, had just been honored for his 30 years of service with the Florence Police Department.

“I want you to pray for the family who lost the bravest police officer I have ever known,” said Police Chief Allen Heidler.

WIS-TV reported Thursday that Florence County Chief Deputy Glenn Kirby said Hopkins was hospitalized with a head injury and was unable to speak with officers. WPDE-TV reported that Hopkins fell at the scene.

Kirby also said the search warrant involved an accusation that a 27-year-old person at the home sexually assaulted a foster child who lives in the home.

Three Florence County deputies were wounded while trying to serve the warrant around 4 p.m. Wednesday. Officers from nearby communities arrived to help, and the suspect ultimately shot four Florence city police officers, one fatally, Heidler said.

Boone credited his department’s military equipment for enabling them to pull the wounded from the field of fire.

Officials did not identify the wounded officers or describe their conditions.

Condolences and outpourings of support rolled in.

President Trump tweeted his “thoughts and prayers,” saying, “We are forever grateful for what our Law Enforcement Officers do 24/7/365.”

“This is simply devastating news from Florence,” Gov. Henry McMaster tweeted. “The selfless acts of bravery from the men and women in law enforcement is real, just like the power of prayer is real.”

This is the second shooting of multiple police officers in South Carolina this year. In January, a 47-year-old former banker shot four officers in York County, killing one, after his wife called 911 to report he beat her. Christian McCall pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life without parole.

Florence, a city in South Carolina’s northeastern corner home to about 37,000, sits at the convergence of Interstates 95 and 20. It’s the largest city in the region known as the Pee Dee, where flooding from Hurricane Florence devastated areas to the east and south.