Officials: Greenville Co. deputies shot during training exercise recovering

GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office said two deputies are recovering after they were hurt during a training exercise on Tuesday afternoon.

According to officials, the incident took place around 2 p.m. at a vacant building located on Wade Hampton Boulevard.

During the exercise, the sheriff’s office said both deputies were hit once by a round. The content and type of round is under investigation.

The injured deputies were taken to a hospital for treatment. On Wednesday, officials gave an update that both deputies have undergone procedures and are continuing to recover.

An internal investigation is being conducted.

We asked a national law enforcement expert, how could something like this happen?

Brian Grisham, with International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training said, “You can use real weapons. It’s just the liability is higher, obviously the safety level is higher and you’d have to endure sterility of the environment. No live rounds around if you choose that path.”

Deputy Director Grisham said training incidents happen, but critical incidents like this one are rare.

Grisham said, “I’ve heard of that in the past so there’s strong polices in training settings to make sure that there’s not live rounds mixed with simulated rounds and such. There have been incidents in the past where live rounds were accidentally introduced.”

Sheriff Hobart Lewis asked the community to please keep the deputies and their families in their thoughts and prayers.

Greenville County Councilman Benton Blount from District 19 gave the following statement regarding the incident:

“Like many in our community, my thoughts are first and foremost with the deputies who were injured. I know that right now, Sheriff Lewis is completely focused on their care and recovery, as he should be.

“There’s still a lot we don’t know about exactly what happened during Tuesday’s training exercise. Normally, when there’s a firearm-related injury involving law enforcement, SLED is often asked to step in and review the situation. My understanding is that those discussions are ongoing, but I will check to see if there are any new developments first thing in the morning.

“Speaking on behalf of Greenville County Council, we will continue to support a fully transparent process as this moves forward. We’ll also work alongside Sheriff Lewis to do everything possible to improve training safety and help make sure an accident like this doesn’t happen again.”

Stay with FOX Carolina as we work to learn more.