SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Two armed men were shot and killed in separate episodes with law enforcement over the weekend in South Carolina after officers responded to reported gunfire, authorities said.
In Spartanburg County, deputies heard and saw shots being fired as they arrived to a fight in a pool between intoxicated people at a home Sunday evening, Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Johnathan McGill said.
Deputies and other officers negotiated for two hours with the man who had been shooting, but he fired several more shots then came out of the house with a loaded gun and moved quickly toward officers, McGill said in a news release.
“Unfortunately, the deputies on the scene were forced to discharge their weapons in response to the actions of the suspect,” McGill said. “At this time, the suspect is deceased.”
Jason Chad Prosser, 43, died a short time after the shooting, the Spartanburg County Coroner’s Office said.
McGill didn’t say how many deputies fired shots or whether investigators have determined who shot Prosser. No deputies were hurt.
In neighboring Greenville County, a deputy shot and killed a man who was firing shots into a home, Sheriff Hobart Lewis said.
Someone called 911 Saturday evening and an operator could hear gunshots and arguments in the background, Lewis told reporters at the scene.
When deputies arrived, the man was shooting into the home and refused to drop his rifle, the sheriff said.
“Deputies challenged him- tried to kind of start to figure out what was going on. At some point, that suspect turned around toward deputies. One deputy did fire,” Lewis said.
Ronald Dean Beheler, 55, died outside the home, the Greenville County Coroner’s Office said.
No deputies were hurt, Lewis said.
The State Law Enforcement Division is investigating both shootings.