© 2024 WFAE
90.7 Charlotte 93.7 Southern Pines 90.3 Hickory 106.1 Laurinburg
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
An in-depth look at our region's emerging economic, social, political and cultural identity.

York County Sheriff's Office Asks For Prayers After Four Officers Shot

WSOC

Updated 3:10 p.m

A York law enforcement officer is in critical condition and three others are being treated in the hospital after being shot early today by a man who was being sought in a domestic violence incident.

The incident began when officers received a call about a woman being assaulted in a home on Farrier Lane, just outside York, shortly after 10 p.m. last night. The suspect, later identified as Christian Thomas McCall, 47 of York, had left the home on foot when officers arrived. Trent Faris, a spokesman with the York County Sheriff’s Department says the department’s K-9 unit was called in to search for McCall along with helicopter assistance.

“At 1:07 (a.m.) we believe the suspect fired shots, striking our K-9 unit officer,” Faris said. “He was hit near the home.”

The K-9 officer has been identified as Sheriff’s Deputy Sgt. Randy Clinton, a more than 34-year veteran with the department. He was transported to Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill by a fellow deputy and is awaiting surgery for a non-life threatening gunshot wound.

Faris says law enforcement units from surrounding jurisdictions joined the search for McCall. About two hours after Clinton was shot, Faris says more shots were fired and three officers were hit. Two of those officers were with the Sheriff Department’s SWAT team and one was a York city SWAT police officer.

They have been identified as 13-year-verteran Sgt. Buddy Brown and 12-year Det. Mike Doty with the Sheriff’s Department and Kyle Cummings, a three-year veteran with the York Police Department. All are in the hospital receiving treatment.

“Sgt. Mike Doty is very critical, hanging on for life,” said York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson. “We’ve had a lot of support, calls, texts, emails, folks coming by the office and we appreciate the public’s support for our officers. We need your continued prayers.”

McCall was also shot and is in in a Charlotte hospital. Tolson says he has no information about his condition other than that he may need surgery.

SLED, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, is handling the investigation but would not comment on the case.

York County Solicitor Kevin Brackett says after visiting the scene of the shootings and reviewing the evidence, he has advised police officials that they have probable cause to issue warrants charging McCall with three counts of attempted murder against Brown, Clinton and Cummings.

“I’ve advised them to hold off pending the outcome of his (Doty’s) treatment,” Brackett said. “His situation is so critical I felt it was not appropriate at this time to file a warrant regarding the shooting of officer Doty.”

Brackett is also recommending charges against McCall for using a weapon in a violent crime and a first-degree domestic charge against his wife. He says she her injuries are not serious stemming from the assault.  

This is a breaking story. Stay with WFAE for updates.

Tom Bullock decided to trade the khaki clad masses and traffic of Washington DC for Charlotte in 2014. Before joining WFAE, Tom spent 15 years working for NPR. Over that time he served as everything from an intern to senior producer of NPR’s Election Unit. Tom also spent five years as the senior producer of NPR’s Foreign Desk where he produced and reported from Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Haiti, Egypt, Libya, Lebanon among others. Tom is looking forward to finally convincing his young daughter, Charlotte, that her new hometown was not, in fact, named after her.
Gwendolyn is an award-winning journalist who has covered a broad range of stories on the local and national levels. Her experience includes producing on-air reports for National Public Radio and she worked full-time as a producer for NPR’s All Things Considered news program for five years. She worked for several years as an on-air contract reporter for CNN in Atlanta and worked in print as a reporter for the Baltimore Sun Media Group, The Washington Post and covered Congress and various federal agencies for the Daily Environment Report and Real Estate Finance Today. Glenn has won awards for her reports from the Maryland-DC-Delaware Press Association, SNA and the first-place radio award from the National Association of Black Journalists.