Suspect found dead after officer shot in Chesterfield County, investigators say

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, S.C. — A suspect wanted for the shooting of a South Carolina police officer died after another shooting Friday morning, police said.

The McBee Police Department officer was shot around 11 p.m. Thursday during a traffic stop on 11th Street near McBee High School in Chesterfield County.

McBee police said the officer tried to pull over a speeding white truck when the suspect fired at the officer more than 60 times before fleeing the scene, ABC affiliate WPDE reports. It’s not clear how many of those shots hit the officer but the police cruiser was left riddled with bullet holes.

“We heard this officer over here in McBee call for help that he had been shot,” said Chesterfield County Sheriff Cambo Streater.

Streater said his officers were nearby, quickly responded, and helped identify the suspect as 27-year-old Alston Modlin.

“People get stopped every day. You pay a ticket or contest and go to court. You don’t pull guns out and try to kill the police officer,” Streater said.

The officer was taken to an area hospital for treatment and has been released to his family. Channel 9′s Tina Terry was able to speak with the officer’s sister, who identified him as Jerriell Wright. She told Terry her brother was shot right across the street from her house, adding he lived around the corner from the area.

She said he helped pull her brother out of his patrol car and it was by God’s grace he survived.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division was one of several agencies that went to Lee County to search for the suspect. Around 10 a.m. Friday, officers announced Modlin had been found in a field in Lee County. Police said that was when more gunfire rang out and the Lee County Coroner’s Office confirmed Modlin died.

Horry County police did not say who fired the shots in the field.

Chopper 9 Skyzoom was along Una Road in Lee County around 11:30 a.m. Friday. Several police cars were at the scene, along with what looked like a burned-out car in the road. Channel 9 is working to learn how that car may be involved.

The Horry County Police Department is handling the investigation as requested by SLED. The agency is working with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office due to the involvement of the three agencies.

Police warned neighbors in Lee County that law enforcement would be in the area for quite some time as they investigated. People who live there are relieved Officer Wright survived.

“I’m glad he lived to see another day,” one neighbor said.

Terry learned Modlin was a welder. A spokesman for the company where he worked said his shift had just ended at 11 p.m. Thursday. She said he underwent a background check before he was hired and was in good standing with no disciplinary issues.

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