Man shot in face outside Spindale restaurant; 1 detained

Spindale police units quickly arrive on West Main Street, confirm they are on scene at the shopping plaza, and report that the victim is down in front of the restaurant area. Dispatch orders all radio traffic held for Spindale officers as they secure the area, and within minutes officers advise that they have one person detained and begin documenting the firearm involved in the shooting.

Once officers confirm a shooting with a victim down, dispatch tones out a local fire station and medic units for a stabbing or gunshot penetrating trauma at the shopping plaza on West Main Street. Medic 12 is sent toward the scene, but Medic 32, already nearby on another call, diverts to the shooting and asks that Medic 12 be reassigned to the original medical incident.

As more units respond, an officer asks which of the several restaurants in Spindale they should go to, and dispatch confirms the location along West Main Street. Medic 12 is told it will see police blue lights upon arrival and is instructed to wait until officers advise that it is safe to proceed directly to the scene.

On scene, law enforcement advises dispatch that the gunshot victim is obviously deceased from a single wound, and a medical helicopter is briefly considered and then held on standby. Once officers confirm the area is secure, they tell dispatch that EMS can come directly to the scene; Medic 32 arrives, and the death is formally recorded as a code 20 at a documented time, shifting the response from rescue to a homicide investigation.

After the suspect is detained and the immediate threat is over, dispatch checks whether radio traffic still needs to be restricted and is told it does not. Spindale officers and assisting units report they are back in service from the West Main Street scene, and remaining Spindale units responding toward the area are told they can instead report back to their station or handle other calls.

As the investigation ramps up, Spindale police and the county sheriff’s office coordinate over the radio to log the case number for the shooting at the shopping plaza on West Main Street. County units are dispatched to assist Spindale officers at the scene, and one unit later reports that everything appears under control and confirms that the individual believed responsible is in custody.

Dispatch continues to check on units still at the West Main Street shopping plaza, confirming that Spindale officers and county deputies are on scene and coordinating. Additional units arrive to assist, the location is repeatedly clarified as near the plaza businesses, and while some assisting units clear, Spindale officers remain at the site to manage the ongoing homicide investigation.

In the hours and days after the shooting, Spindale police publicly confirm that the man who died from the single gunshot wound in front of the shopping plaza was a local adult male, and that his next of kin have been notified. Investigators interview the worker who fired the shot, who remains on scene and cooperates fully with law enforcement as they review surveillance video and witness statements.