A deputy turns his car around at 3:40 in the morning and a man is pointing a gun at him. Minutes later, a deputy is shot running for cover.
- Friday, Sept. 4, 2026, about 3:40 a.m., White Horse Road and Page Drive, Greenville County, S.C.
- Deputies had just cleared an unrelated traffic stop when one of them saw a man standing in the intersection.
- The Sheriff’s Office says the man pointed a gun at the deputy as he turned his car, and the deputy fired. The man ran into a nearby field as backup arrived.
- Running for cover behind the backup deputy’s car, the first deputy was shot in the shoulder. Deputies fired and struck the man in the leg.
- Deputies took him into custody and gave him medical aid until EMS took him to the hospital. FOX Carolina reported the deputy was expected to make a full recovery.
- SLED charged Walter Jason Smith, 42, with two counts of attempted murder and two weapons charges. He is presumed innocent.
- Sheriff Hobart Lewis says the deputies acted within the agency’s use-of-force policy. SLED investigated, and the 13th Circuit Solicitor’s Office is reviewing the case.
Dashcam, body camera and drone footage: released by the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office.
Free — the opening chapterUnits Are SurroundedFive shootings in five months between members of the Soboba Indian Reservation and law enforcement in the Hemet area of Riverside County. My story about being in the middle of it. The full book is coming.Read how it starts
Units Are Surrounded
The new book from Ray Dietrich. Five shootings in five months in Riverside County. The full book is coming - read how it starts, free.
