Suspect in shooting of South Carolina sheriff's deputy killed

By Harriet McLeod CHARLESTON, S.C. (Reuters) - After an 10-hour standoff at a downtown Charleston apartment building on Thursday police said they shot dead a man suspected of last week's ambush shooting of a South Carolina sheriff's deputy. Jerome Thomas Caldwell, 32, died from gunshot wounds after running from the back of the building and firing at police just blocks from Charleston's main shopping and tourist district. Police returned fire and struck Caldwell, Charleston Police Chief Gregory Mullen said at a press conference. Caldwell was the masked gunman who ambushed and shot Berkeley County sheriff's deputy Will Rogers last Thursday night at a gas station about 30 miles from Charleston, police said. Rogers was wounded in the head and is in critical but stable condition, Berkeley County Sheriff C.W. "Butch" Henerey said. A massive manhunt by hundreds of local and state police officers for the suspect had been under way since then. Police received a tip on Saturday as to the suspect's identity, authorities said. The standoff began before dawn Thursday after Caldwell was located and a police officer approached the apartment to try to deliver a warrant for his arrest for attempted murder. The door was slammed and during the day Caldwell moved from apartment to apartment by breaking through walls, police said. Police said they also heard shots from within the apartments and that they managed to free a child who was with Caldwell. Caldwell said during negotiations that he would either kill others or himself, Mullen said. Police said they have no motive for the shooting of Rogers last week. (Editing by David Adams and Eric Walsh)