WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — A man involved in a shooting with Lexington County Sheriff's deputies has died, the sheriff said in a press conference on Friday.
According to Sheriff Jay Koon, deputies were called to the area of Quail Hollow after a 911 call around 11:19 a.m. from a "frantic mother." According to Sheriff Koon, she told dispatchers that her son, later identified as 19-year-old Tyler Mehki Sincere Boages, had threatened her other son with a handgun.
"About the time we got there, the son with the handgun exited the back of the apartment into a woodline across a powerline and into some pretty thick woods," the sheriff said.
Both the Lexington County Sheriff's Department and nearby West Columbia officers set up a perimeter around the area which continued until an eventual confrontation with officers and deputies.
"At some point, the suspect came out, was verbally challenged - given commands by the officers, fired rounds at the officers," the sheriff said.
He said that multiple officers returned fire with the suspect, Boages, being struck and killed.
"All the officers are OK physically," Sheriff Koon said. "We will certainly tend to their mental well-being in the weeks and days to come."
Per the department's protocol, the agency has since requested the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) to investigate independently. Four deputies and two West Columbia Police officers have since been placed on administrative leave.
The sheriff also turned his attention to the family of the shooter during Friday's announcement.
"We've got a grieving mother and a family that have been dealing with mental health issues, I'm told, for a long, long time and they're going through a tragedy right now," he said. "And officers will never be the same that had to dodge bullets and do their job today."
"So it's a lot of hurt, there's no winners here obviously," he added.
In the meantime, the sheriff's department said to expect a law enforcement presence in the area for the near future due to the ongoing investigation.