ST. STEPHEN, S.C. (AP) - A sheriff’s deputy and a man suspected of threatening to kill his wife were wounded early Friday in a shooting in South Carolina, authorities said.
Deputies responding to a 911 call from a woman who said her husband was armed and threatening her stopped the man’s car just outside a home near St. Stephen about 5:30 a.m. Friday, Berkeley County Sheriff Duane Lewis said.
“I don’t know that any words were exchanged. What I’m being told is the suspect exited the vehicle and began firing immediately,” Lewis said at a news conference.
As many as three deputies fired back. Calvin Middleton III was hit several times, and deputy Cody Gooch was wounded, Lewis said.
Hospital officials said Middleton, 31, was in stable condition. No charges had been filed yet as he recovers.
Deputy Gooch was in good spirits, talking to the sheriff in the emergency room, eating a doughnut brought by his co-workers and worrying about if being shot might stop him from reaching his goals, Lewis said.
“He asked me while he is laying there in the hospital bed, ’Sheriff, can I still try out for the corporal’s test next week?’” Lewis said.
Lewis said he didn’t know if deputies had been called to the home before or if the woman who called 911 was hurt.
Gooch is white and Middleton is black. The sheriff said additional information about the shooting would be released from the State Law Enforcement Division, which is investigating.
St. Stephen is about 45 miles (72 kilometers) north of Charleston.
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