SLED Investigating Officer Involved Shooting In Dorchester County

Agents from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) are investigating an officer involved shooting Saturday evening in Dorchester County.

Deputies with the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office responded at around 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 1, 2023, to a convenience store in Summerville, SC following a 911 call reporting a burglary. When deputies arrived, a male subject was inside the business. During an interaction between deputies and the subject, later identified as Ismael Clark, 32, deputies fired shots. Clark was shot and taken to the hospital for gunshot wounds. No deputies were injured.

This is an ongoing investigation. As such, no other information about the case will be disclosed by SLED at this time.

SLED conducts law enforcement officer involved shooting (OIS) investigations at the request of the agency involved in the incident or the agency with jurisdiction. When requested to investigate an OIS, SLED’s goal is to conduct a thorough, independent criminal investigation as timely as is possible under the circumstances. SLED agents will conduct interviews with all potential witnesses in this matter. Further, SLED will collect all relevant evidence and will forensically test such evidence as needed. Information gathered in the SLED investigation of the incident will be summarized in a case file report to be submitted to prosecutors.

The incident in Dorchester County was the 20th officer involved shooting in South Carolina in 2023. This is the 1st officer involved shooting for the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office this year.

In 2022, there were 32 officer involved shootings in South Carolina. Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office had no officer involved shootings last year.