Deputy and suspect trade gunfire

The driver of a Chevy Avalanche opened fire yesterday afternoon at an Oconee sheriff’s deputy near Keowee Key.  The deputy returned gunfire.  The deputy was unharmed.  A chase stretched into Pickens County, where members of that sheriff’s office found the Chevy Avalanche on Jamison Road near Freedom Forest Drive.  The suspect driver fled on foot.  The incident started when the Oconee deputy tried to make a traffic stop for suspicious behavior in the parking lot of the Wells Fargo Bank on highway 130.  That’s when the chase started and, according to the Oconee Sheriff’s Office, the car driver sped away and passed other vehicles on a double yellow line.  The Avalanche driver stopped his vehicle and, using what appeared to be some type of rifle, disabled the Oconee sheriff’s vehicle.  The suspect is thought to be a white male with facial hair, dark or brown hair, and wore a dark shirt.  The state police have been called in.  The Oconee deputy is now on administrative leave.