SC man dies after shootout with law enforcement officers
A shootout between law enforcement officers and a man at a Spartanburg home that caused the evacuation of the neighborhood Wednesday ended after officers heard a gunshot from inside the house.
The Spartanburg County Coroner’s Office said the man, identified as 55-year-old Terrance Gault, died at the scene.
Spartanburg Police Department Major Art Littlejohn said in a news release police officers arrived just before noon on Wednesday at a home on Belmarc Drive after a Spartanburg County Sheriff’s deputy attempted to serve a warrant and was shot at by someone with a handgun who came out of the house.
The man ran back into the house and then came out after police arrived and fired again, Littlejohn said. He ran into the house. Officers took shelter behind their vehicles and shot at the man.
There was a pause and officers heard one shot from the inside of the house.
Officers approached and could see the man on the floor suffering from what they thought was a gunshot wound. Littlejohn said officers rendered first aid until Spartanburg EMS arrived.
The Spartanburg County Coroner’s Office has not released results of the autopsy, which likely would determine whether his injury was self-inflicted.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is investigating as it does all incidents in which officers fire their weapons.
This was the second time this week Spartanburg County officers were involved in a shooting.
On Monday, Landrum Police Department officers responded just before 4 a.m. to an apartment complex off Randolph Avenue after someone reported a disturbance.
They saw an injured woman in a wheelchair and a man armed with a butcher knife outside of the residence.
Five other agencies responded as well — Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office, Polk County Sheriff’s Office, South Carolina Highway Patrol, Inman Police Department, and Campobello Police Department.
SLED reported the man was shot by Spartanburg Sheriff and Landrum Police officers after an “encounter.”
He died at the scene and was identified as Freddie Edwards Jr., 58. The woman, Shana McClain, 53, also died at the scene.
Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright said when the man came toward them, officers used a stun gun and a K9 to subdue the man.
Wright said one Landrum police officer and two Spartanburg County deputies fired at the man when he did not stop.
SLED is investigating that shooting as well.
SLED spokesperson Renee Wunderlich said last year, Spartanburg County Sheriff’s deputies were involved in three shootings. She said the Monday incident amounted to the second shooting for 2023 for Spartanburg deputies.
