Man shot, killed following confrontation with SC college security officer

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is investigating a fatal shooting by a campus security guard at the Spartanburg Methodist College.

It was the first law enforcement-involved shooting of the year in South Carolina.

The shooting occurred on the morning of Jan. 1 on the college’s campus less than 10 minutes from downtown Spartanburg, according to a statement released Tuesday by SLED. The armed campus safety officer, whose name is not included in the release, attempted to stop a white Ford F-150 pickup truck driving the wrong way on a one-way street on the Upstate college’s campus.

According to SLED, a “physical altercation” occurred when the officer attempted to arrest the male driver of the truck, whose name has also not been released. The officer then shot the driver, who died at the scene.

The State has contacted the Spartanburg County Coroner’s Office for more information about the driver.

The officer received medical treatment at a hospital for injuries, but was not shot, according to SLED.

The campus was closed for the holidays at the time of the shooting and there were no students on campus, according to a statement released by the college.

The college requested that SLED investigate, and confirmed in the statement that it was “coordinating with the agency,” but added that “as the investigation is ongoing, we have no further updates at this time.”

Spartanburg Methodist College is a private, non-profit college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. It had an enrollment of 1,037 students in the 2023-24 academic year.

The campus safety department is comprised of SLED certified officers as well as Class 1 Police Officers who have completed, at minimum, basic law enforcement training with the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy.