WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — A man is dead following an hours long standoff with Lexington County deputies at a home near West Columbia.
Lexington County Sherff Jay Koon said Wednesday afternoon that the man, identified now as 29-year-old Shavon Marquise Wright, was found dead inside a bathroom inside the home on Montclaire Circle. That's inside a subdivision just off Highway 1 near West Columbia.
Koon said the incident actually began back on June 8, when they got reports that Wright pointed his gun at neighbors. Officers said they then got a warrant for Wright's arrest. The sheriff said they conducted surveillance at the home to try and find a time when the man left his house without weapons so they could capture him, but said they never found such a situation. Koon also said they got information that something had recently changes in Wright's life that would make him act irrationally, but did not elaborate.
On Wednesday morning at 6:30 a.m., Koon said a tactical team was sent to the home to serve the warrant. They then called for him to come out but say he wouldn't comply, and instead called his attorney.
They said he then began firing rounds out of his house. At one point, Koon said Wright shot at police robots that were being used to look at the house, but then fired shots at officers. The deputies returned fire, striking Wright in the jaw.
The man then went back in the home but came back out and fired more rounds, Koon said.
Koon said this pattern of shots being fired went on for several hours. Eventually, however, communications stopped and Wright barricaded himself inside the home. Officers then sent a robot inside the home and found Wright incapacitated inside the back of the home.
EMS came in and pronounced the man dead.
"Just another case where mental health plays in and it ends in an unfortunate situation," Koon said.
Koon said an investigation is underway into the incident and the coroner's office will also be joining. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division will investigate the actions of deputies in the moments leading up to the shooting.