BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C.–A man kidnaps his wife, holds her at gunpoint, leads deputies on a chase spanning multiple counties, and then gets into a shootout with deputies, Berkeley County Sheriff Duane Lewis said Thursday.
It ended with the suspect being shot and airlifted to the hospital, he said. Deputies say that 34-year-old Daniel Brooks Ward of Moncks Corner is accused in the crime spree.
They say he was due in court in Berkeley County Thursday morning for a bond revocation hearing, but instead the kidnapping and chase ensued. Authorities say Ward had violated an order of protection in place to keep him away from his wife, 33-year-old Brandy Ward of Summerville.
The sheriff says the suspect’s wife was on the phone with a deputy solicitor when her husband approached her in her car, pointed a gun at her, and held her hostage in the car. The sheriff says Ward took off with her in the car, but she was still on the phone with the assistant solicitor who was able to connect her to 911 for help.
“Somebody was looking out for her. She was on the phone with somebody. It could have ended differently,” Sheriff Lewis said during a press conference with reporters from across the state.
The sheriff says Mr. Ward lead deputies up I-26 and up through Clarendon and Orangeburg Counties, then onto I-95. He says Mr. Ward was involved in multiple traffic accidents before ending up in the median near the Santee exit off I-95.
“He fired several shots at the sheriff’s deputies as they were approaching. They did return fire, striking Mr. Ward. He was airlifted to Palmetto Hospital in Columbia,” Lewis said.
Deputies are on standby at the hospital with the suspect, the sheriff says. The chase lasted just over one hour, he says. He says during the kidnapping, Ward also made threats to his wife that he was going to kill himself or it would be a suicide by cop. He says during a part of the chase dispatchers were on the line with his wife, but at one point the connection was lost.
“I don’t understand how or why he allowed her to continue on the phone. I don’t know all that transpired in the vehicle. I won’t know for some time. We are thankful she was able to call us and get that information to us quickly, and that we had deputies in the area that were able to respond,” Lewis said. “We had a suspect who was armed. He has a history of domestic violence. He’s been arrested by us several times. He was supposed to be in court this morning. He was considered armed and dangerous, and he had his wife at gunpoint.”
He says that he is thankful none of his deputies or the victim were injured during the chase.
“We train for this these things. I think our deputies did very well under the circumstances,” Lewis said. “Going into different jurisdictions and communicating is tough. Overall, the focus was to make sure Mrs. Ward was safe.”
The State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) is charging Ward with four counts of attempted murder, and the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office will charge him with kidnapping, violation of a protection order, possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime, and failure to stop for blue lights, Sheriff Lewis says.
The sheriff describes Ward as someone with a lengthy criminal history. He says the ongoing domestic problems involving Mr. Ward go back about four months, and deputies have been called out to respond to incidents involving him 12 times in that time frame.
The kidnapping, chase, and shootout caused major traffic delays on I-95 near Santee, with some drivers reportedly being stuck in the traffic jam about two hours.
SLED is investigating the officer-involved shooting. The sheriff says three deputies from Berkeley County and one Clarendon
County deputy were involved in the actual shootout with Mr. Ward. Those Berkeley County deputies are on paid administrative leave currently pending the outcome of the investigation, the sheriff says. Their names have not been released.
Sheriff Lewis had no update on Ward’s condition as of 4 p.m. Thursday. He says more details will be released in an incident report deputies expect to release by Friday afternoon.
- Grinch, Villain Friends Help Others This Christmas With Funny Photoshoot In Berkeley County - December 7, 2020
- Goose Creek Firefighters Help Family In Their Fight Against Breast Cancer - November 29, 2020
- Moncks Corner Christmas Light Show, Family Tradition Not Broken By Pandemic - November 22, 2020
Recent Comments