Aiken County deputies killed a man early Sunday after they responded to a barricaded person threatening neighbors with a firearm.
The victim was barricaded inside a home and shooting at deputies around 3 a.m. Sunday when he was shot by a deputy, according to Coroner Darryl Ables. The man, identified as 49-year-old Christopher H. Whittle, was pronounced deceased on scene from a gunshot wound and will be autopsied Tuesday morning in Newberry.
Deputies were called to the 300 block of Hamelin Road in Aiken, a rural area about a mile from Shiloh Baptist Church. The call was for a subject threatening neighbors with a firearm, according to sheriff’s Staff Sgt. Steve Shunn.
“When deputies arrived, they encountered a barricaded subject who fired multiple rounds from the residence. SWAT and negotiators responded,” Sgt. Stunn said in a press release.
The man was killed and no deputies or neighbors were injured, the sergeant said. It is unclear how many deputies fired at the man.
It is routine for the sheriff’s office to turn over any officer-involved shooting to SLED for an independent investigation. This marks the 33rd officer-involved shooting in South Carolina in 2023. The Aiken County Sheriff’s Office has had at least one other officer-involved shooting this year.
The Aiken County Sheriff’s Office had four officer-involved shootings last year.
If you have a better photo of Whittle to share, please text it to 803-487-3224.
