Vet charged in SC shooting boasted of gun skills

FLORENCE, S.C. — The Vietnam veteran and disbarred lawyer accused of shooting seven law enforcement officers, killing one, bragged online about his marksmanship and love for the “smell of gunpowder” in the years before the deadly standoff, records and social media posts unearthed Thursday showed.

Frederick Hopkins, 74, lost his law license in the 1980s for mishandling money and faced several minor criminal charges in recent years, including disorderly conduct in 2014. It was around the time that he was disbarred that he got serious about amateur target-shooting, according to the records and posts.

Hopkins’ motive for the shooting remained a mystery, but more details emerged about the two-hour standoff in which authorities say Hopkins’ gunfire prevented officers from rescuing comrades who lay bleeding until they were able to bring in an armored vehicle.

City Officer Terrence Carraway, 52, was killed. Two wounded city officers were released from the hospital. A third officer was listed in serious but stable condition, Florence Police Chief Allen Heidler said. He said he did not know the conditions of the three wounded deputy sheriffs.

Hopkins is accused of opening fire Wednesday from his home in an affluent South Carolina neighborhood after deputies tried to carry out a search warrant involving an accusation that a 27-year-old adult at the home had sexually assaulted a foster child who lives there.

Hopkins also allegedly held children hostage inside, authorities said, but they were released as Hopkins was taken into custody.

The suspect was hospitalized with a head injury and unable to speak with officers, WIS-TV reported Thursday.

In 2016, Hopkins posted photos on Facebook of guns set up for target practice, bragging that he was the state’s 2011 “3-Gun Silhouette Champion.” In a 2014 post, he said he celebrated his 70th birthday at a range by repeatedly firing his M14 rifle.

“I have been shooting competitively since 1984 and lovin’ it,” the post said. “I just love the smell of gunpowder in the mornin’s.”