South Carolina father, son both denied bond in aftermath of police killing

Fred Hopkins and his son Seth. (Florence County Sheriff's Office)

A 74-year-old disbarred lawyer accused of killing a South Carolina law enforcement officer and wounding six others in an ambush-style shooting and his son were denied bond Friday.

Fred Hopkins is charged in the death of Florence Police Sgt. Terrence Carraway and six counts of attempted murder in the Wednesday shooting of Florence, S.C., police officers and Florence County sheriff’s deputies, FOX Carolina reported.

Hopkins and his adopted son, Seth, 28, have been released from medical facilities.

A judge decided to wait for more information before granting the elder Hopkins, a disabled Vietnam veteran, a court-appointed attorney. Prosecutors argued he doesn’t meet the financial qualifications for one.

The elder Hopkins appeared dazed and tired at his bond hearing, WBTW-TV of Myrtle Beach, S.C., reported.

"You understand where you're at right now?," Judge Tommy Mourounas asked Hopkins, according to the station.

"No, where am I?" Hopkins responded.

"You're at bond hearing court," the judge replied.

The younger Hopkins is charged with criminal sexual conduct with a minor. Authorities suspect he is a danger to others, especially young women, and believe there may be other victims.

At his bond hearing, Seth Hopkins said only that he would like a court-appointed attorney, which was denied, the State newspaper of Columbia, S.C., reported.

Both men were taken to jail after their hearings.

Meanwhile, authorities said Friday that Wednesday's shootings would be investigated by the same special FBI team that worked on the slayings of five police officers in Dallas in 2016 and last October's mass shooting in Las Vegas.

Investigators with a search warrant were at Fred Hopkins' home in an upscale neighborhood Wednesday for a scheduled interview his son about sexual assault allegations against him involving a minor.

Four officers were shot getting out of their car, the paper said. The officers were trapped for 30 minutes before an armored vehicle was used to rescue them.

The shooting led to a two-hour standoff with Fred Hopkins barricading himself inside the home with an unknown number of children, who were not harmed.

Four of those children have been in the custody of the state.

Carraway, a 30-year law enforcement veteran, died after being shot. Four other officers who were shot remained hospitalized Friday. Fred Hopkins had been hospitalized with a head wound.

Hopkins served as an Army captain and was awarded the Bronze Star for heroism defending a fire base from North Vietnamese forces in 1970. He earned his law license and was disbarred for mishandling money.

Carraway was a few weeks away from marking his 31st year in law enforcement. A public viewing of his body will be held Monday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.