Suspect had fired first when deputy shot back, York County sheriff says
The man shot Saturday by a York County deputy during a domestic violence call had first shot at the deputy, officials said.
Darrin Montrell Cherry, 28, remains in stable condition at Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill after being shot, according to York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson. Cherry has not been charged in the incident.
Tolson said in a statement to The Herald Monday that deputies responded to a Rock Hill restaurant around 9 a.m. Saturday to meet with a pregnant woman who had called 911 about a domestic violence incident.
“The woman told deputies she had been repeatedly hit by her boyfriend several times in the stomach and he also pointed a gun at her,” Tolson said in the statement.
The shooting incident happened at a house on Steen Circle in the Lesslie community, Tolson said.
Two deputies in separate patrol cars arrived at the Steen Circle home just after 10:30 a.m., said Trent Faris, spokesman for the sheriff’s office. A South Carolina constable was with the deputy in the lead car, Faris said.
As deputies arrived at the home, Cherry was out of the car and immediately opened fire with two handguns, Faris said.
The deputy in the lead car returned fire, Faris said.
The two deputies and the constable were not hurt, Faris said.
Cherry had a child in a nearby car, officials said. The child was not hurt, Tolson said.
Constables are state officers who often serve civil court documents and perform other duties, South Carolina law shows.
The State Law Enforcement Division is investigating the incident at the request of the sheriff because an officer was involved in the shooting.
SLED spokesman Tommy Crosby confirmed that SLED investigators found Cherry had two guns in his possession at the time he was shot.
“Gunfire was exchanged between the subject and the deputy,” Crosby said Monday.
Law enforcement officials have not released other details about the shooting.
It remains unclear what body cam video and dash cam video is available from the deputy and the patrol car.
There have been 33 officer involved shootings in South Carolina in 2020, according to SLED. In 2019, there were 45 officer involved shootings in South Carolina.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
This story was originally published September 14, 2020 at 5:37 PM.
