Christopher DeLong was killed in a gunfight in Columbia, South Carolina, after officers responded to a domestic dispute call just after 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. The case centered on Chris Delong Columbia SC and left Officer David Dymock wounded, with the suspect also dead.
W.H. Skip Holbrook
Columbia Police Department Chief W.H. "Skip" Holbrook told a news conference later Saturday that one officer had succumbed to his injuries. He said, "Our hearts are broken this evening," and added, "We gather under the worst of circumstances you could possibly imagine. We’re deeply hurt."
Holbrook said Christopher DeLong was 29 and had been with the police department for two years. He also said DeLong left behind a wife and two young children. Dymock was in stable condition, and Holbrook said, "our prayers are with him as he continues to recover from wounds sustained during the gunfight."
Just after 9:30 a.m.
The officers went to a residence after a woman said a man she had a restraining order against was inside destroying property. By the time they arrived, the man had left. Holbrook said officers found him about an hour later, and the gunfight followed.
That timeline matters because the response began as a domestic dispute call, then shifted into an armed confrontation after a delay of about an hour. The officers were dealing with a suspect identified as Adam Tyler Dowdy, whom Holbrook said had an extensive arrest record that included disorderly conduct, operating a motor vehicle under the influence, contempt of court, public intoxication, possession of a controlled substance and probation violations.
Dowdy was killed in the gunfight. For DeLong’s family, the facts now center on a 29-year-old officer who never came home from a Saturday call, while Dymock’s recovery remains the immediate point of concern for the department.
