Deputy’s career ends after being shot by untrained security guard

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Action: Negligence, negligent hiring, retention and supervision, recklessness, loss of consortium

Injuries alleged: Fractured femur leading to ongoing complications, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, insomnia, depression

Case name: Withheld

Amount: $3.325 million

Date: March 6, 2026

Attorneys: Ryan Alderson of Alderson Law, Bobby Jones of Bobby Jones Law, and Will Maxey of Maxey, Maxey McFarland, all in Greenville (for the plaintiff)

A Greenville County sheriff’s deputy was shot and critically injured while conducting a routine patrol at an apartment complex construction site in the Sans Souci area of Greenville. The deputy and two colleagues, in full uniform and identifying themselves as law enforcement, approached a suspicious vehicle parked inside the unfinished site. The vehicle accelerated and the driver opened fire, striking the deputy in the leg and shattering his femur.

The shooter had been hired to provide security at the site despite having no security experience, no meaningful training, no legal authorization to possess a firearm, and limited ability to communicate in English. Local law enforcement had received no notice that an armed guard would be patrolling the property.

The deputy suffered a displaced mid-shaft femur fracture with retained bullet fragments, requiring emergency surgery. He subsequently endured years of physical therapy, chronic pain, gait abnormalities, and psychological injuries including PTSD, anxiety, and depression. The injuries ended his law enforcement career.

Plaintiffs alleged that multiple construction entities — including several subcontractors — failed to exercise reasonable care in selecting, vetting, training, and supervising security personnel, and that the shooting was a foreseeable result of placing an unqualified armed guard on the property without adequate oversight or safeguards.