9-1-1 call released from deadly standoff in Goose Creek

GOOSE CREEK, S.C.—Goose Creek Police have released the 9-1-1 call from Tuesday’s deadly standoff on McClain Street. Shortly after 9 p.m., Karen Rice called for help after she says her husband threatened to shoot her in the head.

“I live at 501 McClain Street, and I don’t know what’s happened to my husband but he just pulled four guns on me,” Rice told a dispatcher.

During the 9-1-1 call, Rice told the dispatcher that her husband, Bryan Rice, demanded that she get in the car and leave the house with their 14-year-old daughter.

“I had to get her out the bathroom window,” Rice stated.

Rice revealed to dispatchers that her husband is also a state constable and that he’s never acted violently before.

“I hope he’s not going to shoot himself. He has some medication issues. He’s had some thyroid medicine. I don’t know what’s gone wrong,” Rice told dispatchers. “He’s normally not like this.”

Rice told the dispatcher that her husband “flipped out” when she asked him not to take a supplement, fearing it might react with his other medication.

“He then started calling me a f*ing b*tch and started pulling guns out,” Rice stated. “I just wanted somebody to come get him and take him somewhere, so we can go home.”

Police say that when they finally responded to the house, they were greeted by her husband on the front porch who, in turn, discharged his gun multiple times.  Officers say even after they announced themselves the husband fired additional rounds.

Officers then sought cover and began setting up a perimeter.  Nearby residents were notified and asked to evacuate for safety reasons.

The section of Redbank Road between Gary Street and Robert Road was secured to accommodate the law enforcement response and command post.

Assistance was requested from the Berkeley and Charleston County Sheriff’s Offices.  While tactical teams were assembling, a deputy from the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office and an officer from the Goose Creek Police Department encountered Rice on the railroad tracks between the rear of the residence and U.S. Highway 52.

Gunfire was exchanged between the officers and Rice. He was wounded by gunfire and later succumbed to those injuries.

The officer and deputy involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation by the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED).  This is a procedural matter within both the Goose Creek Police Department and Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office applicable to any such incident.

Officers with the Goose Creek Police Department say they’ve had no prior call history at 501 McClain Street.

According to the wife, she described her husband’s behavior as very much out of the ordinary.

“He was talking and foaming at the mouth. I mean, I’ve never seen anything like this,” stated Rice. “When he was on the anti-depressant he would act like he had been drinking and that’s kind of how he was acting tonight, so I said you must be having a reaction.”