Officer-involved shooting in Pickens County
The state police have entered an investigation of a Wednesday evening case in Easley between a man armed with a gun, deputies with Pickens County Sheriff’s Office, and officers with the Easley police. The state Law Enforcement Division released the following account: “Deputies from the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call regarding a disturbance in Easley, SC. When deputies arrived, a man, later identified as Thomas Wheeler, 26, ran away. The car’s driver fled the vehicle, which left Wheeler inside alone. A standoff between Wheeler and responding law enforcement from the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office and the Easley Police Department followed. Multiple deputies and officers shot at Wheeler. He died at the scene. No law enforcement officers were injured.” The incident was 29th officer-involved shooting this year in South Carolina, but the first this year involving both the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office and the Easley Police Department.