A South Carolina deputy was fatally shot and another injured Tuesday afternoon while responding to a domestic violence incident, the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputy Austin Derek Aldridge, 25, died at around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday hours after he was “ambushed” upon arriving at the scene on Chaffee Drive in the Oak Forest subdivision.
Sheriff Chuck Wright said of the fallen three-year veteran that “he was a good young man.”
“He was ambushed. He was shot. I’ll trust Christ in this. I’m confused. I’m hurt. I’m angry.”
A second deputy was also shot as he tried to stop the suspect as he fled in a vehicle. The injured deputy managed to return fire, hitting the suspect twice.
“Guy gets in a car, they chase him again, he wrecks, gets out and fires at the (second) deputy,” Wright said.
The sheriff added that the suspect, later identified as Duane Heard, was arrested with the help of a SWAT team after running into the woods. He was armed with a rifle.
“Our men showed great restraint knowing that our guys had just been ambushed without firing any shots at him,” Wright said. “They just arrested him.”
“We are the good guys. We do it right and we did it right. I just ask you to pray for our deputy.”
