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A South Carolina police officer died and a second was injured in a \u201cgunfight\u201d Saturday in a park that followed a call about a domestic dispute, Columbia police Chief W.H. \u201cSkip\u201d Holbrook said.<\/p>\n
The suspect, a 33-year-old man with a lengthy criminal record, also died, Holbrook said at a news conference in the capital city. <\/p>\n
The deceased officer, 29-year-old Christopher DeLong, had been with the police department for two years and leaves behind a wife and two young children, Holbrook said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur hearts are broken this evening,\u201d he said, appearing to be choked up at times. <\/p>\n
DeLong\u2019s wife, in a social media post, praised her husband as the \u201cbest dad to our babies\u201d and said she was \u201cliving a nightmare.\u201d<\/p>\n
After a Saturday night news conference, Holbrook and other law enforcement officials joined in a procession from the hospital. The second officer, David Dymock, was in stable condition, the chief said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope that our officers know that they\u2019re not alone in this. We will lean on each other in this tragic time,\u201d Holbrook said. \u201cLet\u2019s pray for this department.\u201d<\/p>\n
The shooting unfolded after a woman called police around 9:30 a.m. Saturday saying a man who she had a restraining order against was destroying property at her home. <\/p>\n
DeLong quickly arrived on scene and learned the suspect had left the residence. The woman gave DeLong a description of the suspect and vehicle description, the chief said.<\/p>\n
Around 10:30 a.m. DeLong left the home but just minutes later he initiated a call about a suspicious person after seeing a man near a vehicle that matched the woman\u2019s description, Holbrook said. <\/p>\n
Dymock arrived as backup and minutes later radioed that officers \u201cwere hit and a suspect was down,\u201d the chief said.<\/p>\n
The suspect was Adam Tyler Dowdy, a man with a history of arrests across at least four states who had faced charges including disorderly conduct, contempt of court, public intoxication, possession of a controlled substance and probation violations, the chief said.<\/p>\n
Holbrook, who did not take questions at the news conference, said the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division would investigate the shooting. A spokesperson for that agency said in an email that the investigation was ongoing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n