Wounded Deputies in South Carolina Were Investigating sex Assault

Suspect in Shooting of Seven Officers is Competitive Rifleman

FLORENCE, S.C. – Authorities have named the suspect they believe shot seven police officers in South Carolina as they tried to serve a search warrant.

WIS-TV reports that Florence County Chief Deputy Glenn Kirby identified the suspect Thursday as 74-year-old Fred Hopkins, a military veteran and a disbarred lawyer who has been charged several times in recent years, starting with a 2014 count of disorderly conduct.

Kirby says Hopkins is hospitalized with a head injury and unable to speak with officers. WPDE-TV reports Hopkins fell at the scene.

Kirby says officers were trying to serve a warrant involving an accusation that a 27-year-old person at the home sexually assaulted a foster child in the home.

One officer was killed and six others injured Wednesday in an upscale Florence neighborhood.

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