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BREAKING: Police Kill Suspect Wanted In Lt. Will Rogers’ Shooting

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Many looking on & waiting to get back inside homes. (Courtesy: Rob Mallia/Twitter)

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C.—According to the Charleston Police Department, the 10 hour standoff with the suspect who shot Lt. Will Rogers with the Berkeley Co. Sheriff’s Office is dead.

“Officers were continuing tactical operations when the suspect came out of the apartment and fired at the officers. Officers returned fire. The suspect is deceased,” wrote the Charleston Police Department on Twitter.

The suspect reportedly told law enforcement authorities that he would not be taken alive.

Authorities stated that the man police suspected in the attempted murder of a Berkeley County deputy was identified through a DNA match.

Charleston County Coroner Rae Wooten stated that Jerome Thomas Caldwell, 32, of Mount Pleasant, died after the 10-hour standoff.

The suspect’s body was removed from the scene shortly after 2 p.m.

SLED, CPD SWAT, Hostage Negotiations, EDU have been on the scene since approximately 4 a.m. in the Cromwell Alley area.

EMS and the Charleston Fire Department are also on scene.

Police said they communicated for hours with the suspect inside an apartment on Robert Mills Manor.

Cromwell between Smith and Franklin, Smith between Queen & Beaufain remain closed to traffic due to the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office shooting suspect inside Robert Mills Manor, authorities stated.

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Cromwell Alley still blocked off by police (Courtesy: Annie Taylor/Twitter)

Motorists and pedestrians had been asked to avoid the area until further notice.

According to Charleston County School District Officials, there is a school located near where the standoff occurred.

Memminger Elementary remained on administrative lockdown until the operation in the Cromwell Alley Area was resolved.

Police said the suspect’s family was on scene also talking with the suspect.

A week ago today, Lt. Will Rogers was shot in the back of the head while at the Exxon gas station on Cypress Gardens Road and Highway 52 in Moncks Corner.

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Residents and on lookers right outside Cromwell Alley watching the standoff situation (Courtesy: Annie Taylor/Twitter)

Authorities stated the suspect then pointed a gun at a driver as his black SUV and made him get out of it. The suspect then sped off in the vehicle.

Deputies said the SUV was later found abandoned at a nearby boat landing.

A massive manhunt had been underway for the suspect for a week now.

Rogers remains in critical but stable condition at MUSC.

County officials say he has been taken off of a ventilator and is starting to recognize and talk to family members.

We will update this story with more information on the standoff in Charleston with the suspect as it becomes available.

Nikki Gaskins Campbell
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