South Carolina officer killed in park gunfight after domestic dispute call

A South Carolina police officer died and a second was injured in a “gunfight” Saturday in a park that followed a call about a domestic dispute, Columbia police Chief W.H. “Skip” Holbrook said.

The suspect, a 33-year-old man with a lengthy criminal record, also died, Holbrook said at a news conference in the capital city.

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.

“Our hearts are broken this evening,” he said, appearing to be choked up at times.

DeLong’s wife, in a social media post, praised her husband as the “best dad to our babies” and said she was “living a nightmare.”

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.

“I hope that our officers know that they’re not alone in this. We will lean on each other in this tragic time,” Holbrook said. “Let’s pray for this department.”

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.

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.

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’s description, Holbrook said.

Dymock arrived as backup and minutes later radioed that officers “were hit and a suspect was down,” the chief said.

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.

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.