Berkeley County Sheriff's Office involved in gunfight in Huger

HEATH ELLISON
heath@thedanielislandnews.com

Berkeley County Sheriff’s Deputy Kimber Gist’s story has been told again and again. In 2016, Gist was shot multiple times by a man after a standoff while on patrol. She was found and declared to be in serious, but stable condition.

On the anniversary of the shooting, another, more explosive gun battle occurred in rural Berkeley County.

“We’re being continuously reminded that this is a dangerous job, that at any moment in time, a simple traffic issue, speeding vehicle issue, could lead to a shootout,” said Sheriff Duane Lewis.

On the afternoon of Feb. 26, the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office and several other law enforcement agencies were involved in a gunfight on Waterfowl Lane in Huger that culminated in the death of the suspect, 51-year-old Joseph Hart. No officers were injured in the shooting.

In a press release following the altercation, the Sheriff’s Office said that the incident began when a deputy responded to a “report of a disturbance between neighbors.”

“When the Deputy arrived on scene, he observed the suspect’s vehicle speeding in the roadway and attempted to stop the vehicle,” stated a press release. “At that point, the driver took cover, pulled out a gun, and started firing a weapon at the Deputy.”

According to Sheriff Lewis, the deputy opened a dialogue with the gunman while the suspect was shooting at him, in what the sheriff described as an attempt to buy time as other deputies and law enforcement agencies arrived.

“He [Hart] had a vantage point of coverage and concealment that the deputy did not have,” said Lewis. “Because of the position of his vehicle and the position of the suspect, the deputy had nowhere else to go.”

Several law enforcement agencies responded to the deputy’s call for reinforcements, including Moncks Corner Police Department, Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, Goose Creek Police Department, Mount Pleasant Police Department, South Carolina Highway Patrol, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, SLED, and the FBI.

The deputy was trapped behind his vehicle for approximately 17 minutes, stated Lewis. The responding law enforcement officers attempted to set up a perimeter around the subject.

The sheriff stated that details on the incident are scarce at the moment and will be until the SLED investigation on the shooting is complete.

Berkeley County Coroner George Oliver provided few descriptions on the suspect.

“He stays here and there, no really stable address, but he was staying in Huger from time to time,” said Oliver.

Hart does not have any family in Huger.

As the sheriff explained in a press conference following the incident, the deputy stayed calm as the situation transpired, relying heavily on his training.

“He was faced with a life and death situation in front of him,” Lewis recounted. “Afterwards, when I spoke with him, had some time with him, I think things started coming together for him on how close he came to losing his life.”

The four deputies who discharged their weapons, including the officer who made initial contact with the suspect, are on administrative leave until the investigation is complete. They will each receive mental health counseling because of the distressing situation they were placed in. The names of the lawmen were not released by the BCSO.

“Anytime they’re involved in a high level, high stressful situation, especially when someone is deceased, we want to give them all the care and comfort we can, and we’re doing that at this moment,” Lewis stated.

The BCSO will also provide counseling for all officers who were in close proximity to the scene.

“It’s a lengthy process,” said Lewis. “It’s one that we have found to be very successful in these stressful type situations and it really does help them.”

A Philip Simmons High School bus transporting students home in the area was turned around because of the active shooter situation.

“Ten students were on that bus, they returned to the school with three administrators and staff members,” said PSHS Principal Anthony Dixon. “We contacted each parent and released students to parents as they picked them up from school. A school call was made to all families informing them of the change.”

For the sleepy community of Huger, the violence was a jarring juxtaposition to the quiet forestry surrounding them. Area resident Paula Forbes did not think anything of the gunshots from the firefight when she first heard them.

“We live in the country. I mean, nobody thought anything about the gunshots, not even with it being 15 in a row,” said Forbes.

The Huger resident described hearing the first responder vehicles in the distance as alarming, but did not know about the full situation transpiring.

“We have a one acre ATV park that we built for the grandkids and all the grandkids are out playing on it and that was 500 feet from where all that was going on. We really didn’t have a clue,” she recalled. “When the cops saw my grandson on his four-wheeler, they were like ‘you need to go in the house. We have an active shooter.’”

Forbes added that she didn’t know the situation was resolved until well after the police helicopter watching from above had left. In response to the events, she expressed unease about the rural area.

“That cop was pinned down a half hour because we are so far from any kind of infrastructure, any kind of help,” she said.

Although details about the situation have been shared by residents and law enforcement, many questions remain about Hart and what led to the events of Feb. 26. More information is sure to follow in the coming weeks.