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'The most important thing is her life': Clarendon County Sheriff's Office rescues victim held at gunpoint in home

A woman is safe and a man is in custody after he broke into a Clarendon County home and held a hostage at gunpoint for hours on Thursday.

MANNING, S.C. — A woman was held hostage at gunpoint in her Clarendon County home for nearly four hours on Thursday.

Today the sheriff there said the suspect in this case may have ties to a crime in another state. 

On Thursday afternoon, multiple law enforcement vehicles were blocking this road behind me after they got calls about a suspect and a victim barricaded inside a house.

"Her life was in jeopardy many times and by the grace of God this came out good from her," Clarendon County Sheriff Tim Baxley says.

Baxley says 60 law enforcement agents from his department and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division responded to the scene.

"In my tenure as sheriff, this is the first time we have had someone who has been a hostage that was at gunpoint," Baxley explains about his seven years in the role.

News 19 spoke with the victim’s sister-in-law, who said she had finished taking a shower when she saw a man outside. She called 9-1-1, which is when Baxley says the man broke into her home. He held her hostage for nearly four hours while officers tried to negotiate with him.

"We’re dealing with somebody’s life here and if it takes all day, night or however long that we can come to a peaceful resolution for this woman. Because that's our most important thing right now. The most important thing is her life," Baxley shares. "I talked to the victim today. She’s very very traumatized but she’s doing extremely well."

Tristan Arnold lives nearby. He says he got home from work on his lunch break to see the officers had shut down the road.

"I feel like they did a good job from what I can see," Arnold explains. "They had the situation handled. Did what they could do."

Eventually the woman got out to safety through a window, and officers say the suspect set the home on fire.  

"Then they put the helicopter down there, so I knew something was up. I just didn’t know what," Paulette Ardis, another neighbor, says. “I actually called the police department and I talked to a lady and she just told me to be very aware of my surroundings and that was all she could tell me at that point."

Now, we know the suspect was apprehended after officers used tear gas and a K-9 to retrieve him from the house. Baxley identified the man as Ronald Ray Broadnax, who was in a stolen vehicle from Virginia, where he is a person of interest in a homicide. 

Baxley says he was traveling on I-95 and had no connection with the victim.

"No matter where you live, whether you live near 1-95 or anywhere else, just always be very very cautious of your surroundings. Be alert of what’s going on because you never know in today’s society," Baxley cautions. "You know, the world’s a lot different place than what it used to be."

Baxley tells News 19 the suspect is in the hospital undergoing surgery for injuries sustained during the incident. He’ll then face multiple charges including kidnapping, assault and arson 

Baxley says he's happy with his department's response, as well as their collaboration with SLED. He explains there is nothing the department plans to change about their operations, considering they already patrol the area.

"All we can do is continue patrolling like we do," Baxley says. "There’s 640 square miles in this county so we do our best to cover it all everyday."

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