KEY POINTS

  • A five-year Myrtle Beach police officer was killed in the line of duty Saturday 
  • Patrolman Jacob Hancher was shot and killed after responding to a domestic call
  • Police said Hancher and another responding officer "exchanged gunfire" with the suspect
  • The second officer was injured and brought to the hospital

A Myrtle Beach police officer was killed in the line of duty after he was involved in a shootout over the weekend.

23-year-old Patrolman Jacob Hancher was fatally shot late Saturday, September 3, after responding to a domestic call near 14th Avenue and Yaupon Drive. It was here that the unidentified suspect “exchanged gunfire” with authorities, Myrtle Beach Online reported.

A second police officer, which was also responding to the scene alongside Hancher, was wounded during the shootout and was transported to a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, said ABC News, citing a statement from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED).

Police Line
Temple University police recovered Jenna Burleigh's body from a shade in Joshua Hupperterz’s grandmother's house in Wayne County, Michigan. In this photo police block off an area on South Florissant Road outside the Ferguson Police Department in Ferguson, Missouri, March 12, 2015. Photo by Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images

SLED, who is leading the investigation, added that the suspect was “discovered deceased” following the incident. However, it was not immediately clear whether the suspect was shot by the police officers or died from a self-inflicted gunshot.

No further information was released by police officials, the outlet added.

Myrtle Beach Police chief Amy Prock described Hancher as a “dedicated public servant who upheld his oath to protect his community” and that he made the “ultimate sacrifice.”

“He cared about the people he served and served with and absolutely loved the Myrtle Beach. I ask of you today to please keep Jacob, his family and his fellow officers in your prayers,” Prock said.

Hancher served as a department community service officer for four years before he was sworn in as a police officer less than a year ago. He also served as a volunteer firefighter with the Horry County Fire Rescue.

Hancher is the first Myrtle Beach, South Carolina police officer killed in the line of duty in the last 18 years and the 37th officer involved in a shooting in South Carolina this year, officials told ABC News.

The Department posted a heartwarming message and video on Facebook and remembered Hancher’s “infectious smile and caring attitude that changed every life he touched.”

“We have tried today to put into words what Officer Jacob Hancher meant to us and to this community. If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then this video is worth a million words. Words that cannot describe how we feel, but would describe Jacob perfectly,” read the post.

Meanwhile, a nonprofit organization was able to raise more than $20,000 to support the family of Hancher.

According to Fox News, Serve & Connect has raised more than $21,000 of its $30,000 goal in the wake of the officer’s death.

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