A 29-year-old Columbia, South Carolina police officer is dead and a second officer is recovering after a Saturday morning gunfight with a 33-year-old career criminal who should never have been walking the streets.
Officer Christopher DeLong was shot and killed near Southeast Park after answering a domestic-dispute call.
Officer David Dymock was wounded and listed in stable condition. The suspect, Adam Tyler Dowdy of Prosperity, was also killed in the exchange, WANDTV reported.
Columbia Police Chief W.H. “Skip” Holbrook, visibly broken at a Saturday night news conference, said it was the first time in more than half a century a Columbia officer had been shot and killed in the line of duty.
“Our hearts are broken this evening,” Holbrook said. “Together, under the worst circumstances you can possibly imagine, we’re deeply hurt. What started today as any ordinary day has changed everyone’s lives here forever.”
DeLong had been with the department only two years. He leaves a wife and two young children.
Chief Holbrook said Dowdy had an extensive criminal history involving arrests in South Carolina, Kentucky, Wisconsin, and Georgia. His prior charges reportedly included disorderly conduct, contempt of court, public intoxication, controlled-substance possession, and probation violations.
Court records reviewed by FOX 5 Atlanta also show that Dowdy was facing 11 misdemeanor charges in DeKalb County, Georgia, arising from a June 2025 incident.
Those charges reportedly included multiple counts of family-violence battery, simple battery, simple assault, and obstructing a person attempting to make an emergency telephone call.
Dowdy was reportedly free on bond and had a court hearing scheduled for October.
Once again, a man with a long criminal history and pending domestic violence-related charges was walking free, and a brave police officer responding to protect a woman and her property is now dead.
How many innocent Americans and law enforcement officers must pay the price before repeat offenders are kept off the streets?
As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, the consequences of the revolving-door justice system have repeatedly turned deadly. In North Carolina, violent repeat offender Di-Quan Hunt was allegedly arrested and released at least 14 times while his own family pleaded with judges and authorities to keep him confined before he seriously injured—or killed—someone.
The Gateway Pundit has also reported extensively on the murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, who was allegedly stabbed to death by a homeless repeat offender with a lengthy criminal history aboard a Charlotte light-rail train.
The investigation into Saturday’s shooting is being led by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, with assistance from the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.
Chief Holbrook asked the public to pray for DeLong’s family, Officer Dymock, and the officers now mourning one of their own.
“Pray for these police officers that serve so courageously in our capital city,” Holbrook said.
Officer Christopher DeLong answered the call and made the ultimate sacrifice.
May he rest in peace.
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