Shooting in Florence and South Carolina: A man faces a charge of murder in an ambush of officers



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Frederick Hopkins also faces six counts of attempted murder in the shootout, said Sheriff Leon Lott of Richland County, whose office is conducting the investigation.

Three Sheriff's deputies from Florence County visited Hopkins on Wednesday to question her 27-year-old adopted son, Seth Hopkins, in an investigation into a criminal sexual assault, Lott said. MPs also had a search warrant.

Sgt. Terrence Carraway, a veteran of the 30-year-old Florence Police Department, was among those who came to the scene to provide relief. He was killed and six other law enforcement officials were injured during the two-hour confrontation.

Frederick Hopkins, who was formally charged on Friday at noon, is being held in a medical center, Lott said. Authorities predict that he will be released later on Friday and transferred to a detention center in Richland County, before being brought back to Florence County.

Seth Hopkins was also arrested and charged with second-degree sexual conduct, Lott said.

"It's a very big and complex puzzle that we fill out piece by piece – what, why and who," Lott told reporters at a press conference Friday afternoon.

The investigation is ongoing, he said. The FBI helps to deal with the crime scene.

It is not known if the suspects are represented by lawyers.

Prior to the press conference, an informed source of the investigation had told CNN that a foster child living at home was a victim of the alleged sexual assault, but the authorities did not do it at the meeting on Friday.

"It was an ambush," he said.

It is unclear whether the authorities determined why the police shot at them when they arrived home.

Seth Hopkins had been informed that MPs were going to question him, Lott said.

"These officers have done absolutely nothing wrong," he said. "I do not want anyone to think that their procedures were incorrect, that everything they did was wrong, they did not do it." It was an ambush that you simply can not not prevent. "

Bloody evidence is resting on the ground after officers were shot dead Wednesday in Florence, South Carolina.

Frederick Hopkins was struck off as a lawyer in 1984, four years after obtaining his law degree, according to records. He was ordered to pay $ 18,000 to a Lexington County Court, an amount equal to the amount of "undue legal fees".

He was charged in 2014 with disorderly conduct, according to court records. This is his only prior known arrest.

Hopkins and his wife have nine adopted children, a woman told The State newspaper, claiming that she was a long-time friend of the Hopkins family.

Officials did not provide details on the number of children who were in the house at the time of the shooting, but Florence County Lawyer, EL Clements III, told reporters that a hearing had taken place in the family court on Friday regarding preventive custody of young people.

Officers recover again

Four law enforcement officials injured in the shooting remain hospitalized Friday.

The sheriff's deputies are in critical condition, Deputy Chief Glenn Kirby said, and the third is in a stable state.

A police officer is also still in the hospital, said Lieutenant Mike Brandt of the Florence Police. Two other wounded officers were released Wednesday night.

Dozens of shots can be heard in the footage recorded by a witness in the vicinity of the shooting.

The officers eventually had to be saved, with an armored vehicle used as a shield.

Carraway, whom the mayor of Florence described as "great policeman" and "remarkable personality," died on the way to the hospital, said city spokesman John Wukela.

Officer killed was a "nice giant"

City officials praised Carraway as a man of steady temperament and deep commitment to his community.

Florence police chief Allen Heidler retorted on Thursday reminding Carraway as a good friend and "the bravest police officer" he's known.

Carraway had launched a mentoring program for disadvantaged youth called Camp FEVER, said Heidler.

"He was passionate about children (…) seeing children from disadvantaged areas having the opportunity to do things that they might not have," Heidler said. "It was a giant of man, but it was a mild giant proverbial, and I loved it."

An autopsy was to be performed at South Carolina's School of Medicine in Charleston, WBTW reported.

The pastor of Carraway, Reverend Cecil Bromell of Florence's first Baptist Church, announced that there would be a public hearing from 9am to 11am Monday at the Florence Center and a commemorative ceremony at noon.

Nick Valencia from CNN reported in Florence and Dakin Andone wrote in Atlanta. CNN's Devon Sayers, Nicole Chavez, Eric Levenson, Jason Hanna, Steve Almasy and Pamela Kirkland contributed to this report.

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