SLED charges off-duty SC cop with murder following fatal Chick-fil-A shooting

The off-duty police officer who shot and killed a man following a fight at a Chick-fil-A has been charged with murder, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.

Anthony DeLustro, a Summerville Police Department officer, shot and killed Michael O’Neal on March 20 after the two men traded punches and kicks in front of the restaurant located at North Main Street in Summerville.

A warrant released Wednesday by SLED charging DeLustro, 64, with murder described him as the “primary aggressor” in the fight, according to eyewitnesses.

While O’Neal, 39, attempted to flee the scene of the chaotic fight in his car, eyewitnesses told investigators that DeLustro said that he would shoot the younger man if he attempted to leave.

An affidavit filed by SLED Senior Special Agent Ryan Kelly described how eyewitnesses and video evidence showed that O’Neal had retreated from the altercation before DeLustro confronted him with a gun.

“A reasonable person could not have reasonably believed that the victim posed a threat of imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury to others because the victim was unarmed, walked away from the altercation and attempted to leave in his vehicle,” Kelly wrote.

A veteran law enforcement officer, DeLustro was born in New York and began his career as a cop with the New York Police Department in 1980. In 2003, he took a job with the Department of Public Safety at Trident Technical College in Charleston, according to records obtained from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy. He then went on to work for the Summerville Police Department before going to the College of Charleston’s Department of Public Safety.

DeLustro also worked at the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office and with The Citadel’s public safety department before returning to the Summerville Police Department in 2023.

Other media have reported that DeLustro was fired by the department after SLED indicated the agency intended to charge the officer.

“This tragedy has devastated two families,” Summerville Police Chief Doug Wright wrote in a statement posted to the department’s Facebook page.

The warrant and supporting documents released by SLED give the fullest account yet of the fatal confrontation that unfolded in front of the fast food restaurant. In his affidavit, Kelly wrote that DeLustro and O’Neal exited their vehicles in front of the restaurant, with O’Neal reportedly saying “do you want this?” according to witnesses.

DeLustro allegedly responded with a homophobic slur, saying “Come on you f------g f----t,”

As the two men traded punches and kicks in front of the popular chicken sandwich restaurant, DeLustro reportedly told O’Neal that he was under arrest and tried to show him his Summervile Police Department badge, which he then dropped. As the fight continued, DeLustro’s handgun, a Springfield Armory XD, allegedly fell out of his holster and landed behind his truck.

O’Neal attempted to extricate himself from the fight, reportedly telling witnesses he wanted to leave and getting in his car. But DeLustro retrieved his handgun and pursued O’Neal, ignoring his own wife who attempted to stop him.

DeLustro pulled open the passenger side door of O’Neal’s car and tried to prevent him from leaving, according to the warrant. As O’Neal tried to drive away, DeLustro shot him once, killing him.

O’Neal was originally from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, according to his obituary. His father was an officer with the Winston-Salem police for over 30 years.

Following the shooting, DeLustro claimed that he used deadly force because he believed that his legs were trapped under O’Neal’s moving car and because he “was in fear for the community’s safety and for his wife’s safety,” according to the affidavit.

DeLustro was booked at the Berkeley County Detention Center. The case will be prosecuted by the 9th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.