Man Who Opened Fire on SC Police Identified as 74-Year-Old Vietnam Veteran

breitbart.com ^ | 10/4/2018 | AWR Hawkins

[rktman]

Police identified the man who opened fire on officers in Florence, South Carolina, Wednesday as 74-year-old Fred Hopkins, a Vietnam veteran and former attorney.

Breitbart News reported that one officer was killed and six others injured when Hopkins opened fire. ABC 7 identified the deceased officer as 52-year-old Terrence Carraway, a 30-year veteran of the Florence Police Department.

Authorities said the gunman, Fred Hopkins, is a Vietnam veteran who opened fire as officers came to the house to serve a search warrant. The warrant did not pertain to Hopkins; rather, it centered on “an accusation that a 27-year-old person at the home sexually assaulted a foster child who lives in the home.”

Law enforcement indicated that children were in the home at the time that Hopkins opened fire and that those children were held hostage for a time.

WMBF reported that Hopkins suffered a head wound and was subsequently hospitalized, and the 27-year-old subject of the search warrant was shot as well.

Florence County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Glenn Kirby said Hopkins had the upper hand in the shootout: “The way this suspect was positioned, his view of fire was several hundred yards. So he had an advantage. The officers couldn’t get to the ones who were down.”

Hopkins pinned down officers, and an armored personnel carrier was called in to retrieve the wounded.

[Doogle]

Liberal media for ya....

[Wilderness Conservative]

You’re not sure? Wow. Vet or not this scum should not be allowed to stay amongst the breathing much longer.

[small farm girl]

Trader, you may be right. Perhaps after years of PTSD, claustrophobia, fear of flying, etc, etc, he had to...
Oh, my bad, none of that will matter for him because I am pretty sure neither Trump nor Kavenaugh will be involved.

[upchuck]

Thanks for the ping Game.

This is such a shame. All the way around.

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[cuban leaf]

It will be interesting to see what was really going down behind teh scenes before the fateful event. I’m neutral on police now. But what that means is that I don’t just automatically come down against “the perp”. I need more info.

[BookmanTheJanitor]

Kasich is still the king :o)

[Avalon Memories]

I don’t mean to excuse this murderer, but it’s fair to point out that at 74 he could have dementia or Alzheimer’s. Even in early stages, people afflicted with those brain diseases can become violent. I don’t know if we’ll ever find out why he did this, but would not be surprised if some form of mental impairment is a contributing factor if not the actual reason.

[Blue House Sue]

“With all due respect this man had Agent Orange exposure, battled cancer and had some significant mental issues at least partially derived from his service.”

He is no better than the BLM cop killers in Baton Rouge and Dallas.

[redcatcherb412]

Deja Vu and back to the 70-80’s and the VN vets all have crazy dangerous PTSD and subject to psychotic rage and combat flashbacks. Cue the gun grabbers mental health screed that go with the old democrat gun grab days of Veterans are terrorists.

[Blue House Sue]

He is a Cop Killing Thug.

[squarebarb]

I’ll wait and see. Need more info on the guy. He could have been a Vietnam vet of the air force that stayed behind the lines and was never exposed to fire, or operated a canteen in a safe area etc. Not all Vietnam vets were in combat. Or could have been a Vietnam-era vet and the reporter fudged it. Or, on the other hand, maybe he did see a lot of combat. Who knows? Never trust a reporter.

[RedMonqey]

Now, why isn't the headline: "Man Who Opened Fire on SC Police Identified as 74-Year-Old FORMER ATTORNEY"?

Which is pertinent? His service in VN or his years as an attorney.

Hate to side with the media, who will beat this "crazed vet' senario like a dead horse but his skills learned in the military probably increased his deadly accuracy more than his verbal skills as a lawyer.

[rktman]

Don’t be so sure. Them deviants know no bounds when it comes to vilifying folks. Now, if we could tie the perp into having voted for Trump.................

[rktman]

Or, he may have served with “dick” duhrbin in VN.

[traderrob6]

I didn’t imply he was.... I was simply addressing rktman’s comment concerning the author’s percieved inference of a “crazed Viet Nam Vet”.

Absolutely NO excuse meant to be inferred.

[PsyCon]

Seems to be a rush to speculation over very limited information.

I know it is difficult for many to believe, but you do not need a mental disorder or disease to kill.

[caww]

.....”I know it is difficult for many to believe, but you do not need a mental disorder or disease to kill”....

Cain murdered Abel then lied about it.....so do share what his disorder or disease was?

[rktman]

He was a lyin’ horn swagglin’ killer and a liar.

[miserare]

A tragedy all around.

[miserare]

Yes! The first thing relatives of dementia patients should do is to remove all firearms! The next is to remove all knives and all sharp pointy things!