Armed woman barricades herself in SC home during shootout with law enforcement, SLED say

Noah Feit
·2 min read

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said it’s investigating a shooting that involved an armed woman and Laurens County Sheriff’s deputies.

The shooting happened Monday, SLED said in a news release. No one was injured in the shooting, according to Wednesday’s release.

Deputies got involved at about 9:50 p.m. Monday, when they responded to a Mountain Creek Road home where there was a report about a domestic dispute, the sheriff’s office said. That’s in the Gray Court area of Laurens County.

Deputies tried to speak with the person who was believed to be the aggressor in the domestic incident, according to the sheriff’s office. That person was later identified as 50-year-old Mollie Mischelle Shephard, and she was armed, SLED said.

As deputies tried to make contact, Shephard fired at least one shot, and one deputy returned fire, according to the sheriff’s office.

At that point, deputies were able to safely assist the other resident out of the home, while Shephard barricaded herself inside, officials said.

The deputies made more attempts to communicate with Shephard, but when there was no progress both the sheriff’s office’s SWAT team and SLED’s SWAT team were called to the scene, according to the sheriff’s office.

Following negotiations with both SWAT teams, Shephard eventually exited the home and was arrested without incident, SLED said.

When she was taken into custody at about 12:10 a.m. Tuesday, Shephard was charged with two counts of attempted murder and a single count of breach of peace, according to the sheriff’s office. More charges are possible, the sheriff’s office said.

Shephard was taken to the Laurens County Detention Center, SLED said. She remains behind bars after her bond was denied on both attempted murder charges, jail records show.

“I would like to thank our SWAT guys for always being ready and willing to protect. Thank you to SLED and DNR for your assistance,” Sheriff Don Reynolds said in a news release. “The outcome today certainly could have been different and I’m thankful no one was hurt.”

SLED said the sheriff’s office asked it to lead an investigation into the deputy’s involvement in the shooting.

In 2023, there were 43 shootings in South Carolina that involved law enforcement officers, and two involved the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office, SLED said.

This is the ninth shooting of 2024 that involved a law enforcement officer, and the first involving the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office, according to SLED.