Sheriff: York Co. officers exchanged fire with suspect shot, killed in NC, SC chase

A suspect was shot and killed Thursday morning in North Carolina after a police chase in which York County officers exchanged fire with a suspect who rammed into two patrol cars.

One Clover officer was injured in the chase when his car was hit during the encounter, said Clover Police Chief Randy Grice.

The suspect was killed in Kings Mountain, N.C., where the chase ended, police said. The name of the suspect has not been released by police.

York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson said the chase began after a hit-and-run in Gaston County, N.C.

The chase moved into York County before again crossing the N.C. border and ending in Kings Mountain.

Tolson said York County deputies and the Clover Police Department were notified just after 8 a.m. of a police chase that had started in North Carolina.

Clover police located the suspect’s vehicle, stopped on Lloyd White Road with the driver inside, and contacted the sheriff's office, Tolson said. The vehicle was stolen, he said.

When York County deputies arrived, around 8:30 a.m., Clover police and the deputies got out of their patrol cars and approached the suspect’s vehicle, Tolson said.

The suspect fired shots at the officers, but the officers ran for cover and no one was hit, Tolson said.

Tolson said the suspect rammed a York County patrol car in reverse and drove away. York County and Clover officers got into their cars and pursued the suspect, he said.

The suspect then rammed a Clover patrol car that that was on the road. A Clover officer, who was in the car at the time, suffered an arm injury, Grice said.

Two York County deputies and one Clover police officer fired at the suspect after he rammed the Clover patrol car, said Tolson and Grice. It’s unclear if the suspect was injured in that exchange, Tolson said.

Tolson said multiple people were in cars behind officers during the exchange, and that officers took that into account when returning fire.

York County deputies and Clover police officers pursued the suspect into Gaston County, until North Carolina officials took over the chase, Tolson said.

The two York County deputies and two Clover police officers are on administrative leave, pending an investigation into the incident by the State Law Enforcement Division, which is standard procedure, Tolson and Grice said.

According to a statement Thursday night from the sheriff’s office, the deputies involved are Master Deputy Wayne Richardson and Deputy Blaine Addis and the Clover police officers involved are Lt. Frankie Sadler and Lt. Logan McGarity.

“It was a very intense situation and the officers handled it well due to their training,” Grice said. “I’m just glad no one else got injured.”

During the pursuit, three schools in York County – Clover Middle School, Bethany Elementary and Kinard Elementary – were placed on lockdown as a precaution.

Amber Brown, a Clover resident who lives nearby, said she had dropped her kids off at school before getting the notice that the school was on lockdown.

“It’s crazy,” she said. “It’s sad you can’t hardly send your kids to school.”

In York County, Lloyd White Road at Robinson Yelton Road, between Knox Road and Calvin Road, was closed due to the investigation, according to the sheriff’s office.

The Gaston County Sheriff’s Office, Kings Mountain Police Department, Gaston County Police, York County Sheriff’s Office and state troopers were all involved in the incident.

This story was originally published October 19, 2017 at 10:44 AM with the headline "Sheriff: York Co. officers exchanged fire with suspect shot, killed in NC, SC chase."