3 Chester SC schools closed due to manhunt. Deputy returns fire when suspect shoots first
A police manhunt continued Tuesday for an armed suspect who allegedly shot at two sheriff’s deputies, officials said.
Residents of Richburg were asked by Chester County Sheriff’s Office deputies to lock their doors and stay inside. Richburg is off S.C. 9 and close to Interstate 77.
Lewisville High School, Lewisville Middle School, and Lewisville Elementary School are nearby. The Chester County School District decided to keep the three Lewisville schools closed Tuesday. All county schools started on a two-hour delay because of the manhunt, school officials said in a statement.
Sheriff: Deputies returned fire after being shot at
Chester County Sheriff Max Dorsey told reporters one deputy returned fire at the suspect after the suspect shot at the deputies.
Three police vehicles were damaged. A picture of a damaged patrol SUV provided by the sheriff’s office to The Herald showed a bullet hole in the windshield.
It is unclear if the suspect was hit when deputies returned fire, Dorsey told reporters.
Grant Suskin, spokesman for the sheriff’s office, identified the suspect as Tyler Donnet Terry, 27, of Great Falls in Chester County.
Chester deputies have warrants against Terry charging him with two counts of attempted murder for shooting at deputies, Suskin said. As of 9:30 a.m. Terry remained uncaught, Suskin said.
Manhunt ongoing for shooter
The manhunt for Terry continued Tuesday through the afternoon, officials said.
For much of the day, parts of S.C. 9, the main east-west highway in Chester County that intersects with I-77, was blocked as deputies, State Law Enforcement Division agents, S.C Highway Patrol troopers, and police from York and Lancaster counties assisted in the manhunt, officials said.
The search location includes several wooded areas and extends to large industrial areas nearby, officials said.
In a social media posting on Facebook and Twitter Tuesday around 1 p.m., Chester sheriff officials said investigators were told Terry had been spotted east of the Lewisville schools near the intersection of Sloan Road and S.C. 9. A second possible sighting around 1:45 p.m. near Britt Lane and Ligon Road off S.C. 9 also was reported to police, deputies said.
A SLED helicopter and other police units responded to the areas, but as of 2:30 p.m. Terry remained uncaught, Suskin said.
Arrest warrants obtained by The Herald state the incident started after deputies attempted to make a traffic stop when the car was in the parking lot of the Bojangle’s restaurant off S.C. 9 while the restaurant was closed. The vehicle then fled.
The chase ended when the suspects’ vehicle crashed near S.C. 9, police said.
State Law Enforcement Division spokesman Tommy Crosby said one deputy received minor injuries during the incident. Dorsey, the sheriff, said SLED agents were asked to investigate because a deputy fired at the suspect.
Records: Shooting suspect was free on bail
Terry was free on $20,000 bail after a May 2020 arrest in Chester County for first-degree domestic violence, according to South Carolina court records.
Terry pleaded guilty in April in Myrtle Beach in Horry County to domestic violence and was sentenced to time served in jail, court records show. He also was found guilty in a trial in his absence of driving without a license in April in Myrtle Beach, according to court records.
It remains unclear what prompted the shooting at Chester deputies.
Chase driver arrested, police say
The incident started before midnight off Edgeland Road in Richburg near Exit 65 of I-77, according to Suskin. A chase went on for more than 20 miles that went into York County and back to Chester County.
Terry was a passenger, officials said.
A woman driver in the vehicle was taken into custody but Terry fled on foot, officials said.
The driver, Adrienne Roshea Simpson, 34, of Myrtle Beach, is charged with failure to stop for a blue light, according to arrest warrants obtained by The Herald.
Simpson was free on bail after an April arrest for petty larceny in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina court records show. That case remains pending.
Simpson is being held at the Chester County jail on the failure to stop warrant, according to the Chester County Sheriff’s Office Web site.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
This story was originally published May 18, 2021 at 7:51 AM.
