CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – The Charleston County Coroner’s Office released the identity of the man fatally shot during an officer-involved shooting early Tuesday morning.
Jason Cooper, 28, of North Charleston, died at the scene of the shooting at North Romney Street at 3:24 a.m. Tuesday, according to Charleston County Deputy Coroner Supervisor Brittney Martin said. An autopsy has been ordered for Wednesday.
Cooper died after what Charleston Police Chief Luther Reynolds called an exchange of gunfire at the Bridgeview Village Apartments in the 100 block of North Romney Street shortly at approximately 3:15 a.m.
Reynold held a news conference Tuesday afternoon hours after the shooting. He said five city police officers involved in the incident are on paid administrative leave while the shooting is being investigated by the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division.
Reynolds said the situation began when a woman called police about a domestic violence situation involving a weapon. Responding officers arrived on the scene and were met with a person with a gun and after an exchange of gunfire, a Charleston Police officer was shot in the chest area and was taken to the hospital, Reynolds said.
“That officer was wearing a ballistic vest and was examined at the hospital and has already been released,” Reynolds said. “An individual who was involved in the shooting and associated with the initial call is deceased.”
Reynolds said the suspect was an African American man. The officers involved were white, he said.
It is not clear how long the investigation will take; he said each investigation is different.
