SLED: Goose Creek suspect killed in standoff was a state constable

GOOSE CREEK, SC (WCSC) - Officials with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division say a 57-year-old man who was shot, and died following a standoff with police in Goose Creek was a state constable.

According to SLED officials, Brian Eugene Rice was a Class III state constable and first commissioned in June of 2003.

Coroner Bill Salisbury said Rice suffered a gunshot wound and was transported to a local hospital following a standoff with police late Tuesday night. Rice died at the hospital at 12:48 a.m. on Wednesday.

According to GCPD officials, Rice was shot around 11:45 p.m. on railroad tracks in the area of Red Bank Road and McClain Street.

The incident started at 9:11 p.m. when police responded to a home on McClain Street in reference to a report of criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature involving a gun. When officers arrived at the location, a woman, identified as Rice's wife, said that Rice had pointed a gun at her face and threatened to shoot her and her 14-year-old daughter. 

The woman said she then left the home through the bathroom window, and she and her daughter then left the area. 

A police report states the woman told investigators that Rice was on some type of medication, and was not sure how Rice would act towards law enforcement. 

As several police officers approached the home from the front and the rear of the home, authorities say they saw Rice standing on the front porch with a gun in his hand. Police say Rice fired 2 to 3 shots. 

According to investigators, after a police lieutenant and officer announced that they were with the Goose Creek Police Department, Rice fired 2 to 3 more shots. The police lieutenant then told all units to fall back and to set up a perimeter. 

Police also evacuated nearby homes in the area, and SWAT was called to the scene. Authorities secured a section of Redbank Road between Gary Street and Robert Road as the standoff progressed. 

Authorities say as tactical teams were assembling, a deputy from the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office and an officer from the Goose Creek Police Department encountered Rice on the railroad tracks between the rear of the home and Highway 52. 

Investigators say gunfire was exchanged between the law enforcement officers and Rice who was wounded by the gunfire and later succumbed to his injuries. Goose Creek police officials say the officer and deputy involved in the shooting were placed on administrated leave pending the outcome of a SLED investigation.

According to police, the suspect used a long gun in the incident, and no other injuries were reported.

Motorists and residents reported throughout the night a large number of police in the area as well as a road closure as authorities were dealing with the situation. 

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