Police officer shot at LEC released from hospital

Greenville Police officer Tim Harrison has been released from the hospital after three surgeries to repair wounds suffered in a shooting outside the Greenville County Law Enforcement Center on Sept. 1.

Harrison was the first officer to respond to a call for backup after 23-year-old Evan Bennett fired a shotgun into the front entrance of the LEC, the headquarters for the Greenville Police Department and the Greenville County Sheriff's Office.

Three officers – two deputies and a policeman – were inside when the shooting started. They were not hit by the two shells fired by Bennett, who then ran up the ramp outside and hid between two patrol cars.

When Harrison got out of his vehicle, Bennett stood up and fired. The buckshot hit Harrison in three places, two on the side and one in the right forearm. Harrison rolled under his car and was able to get off one round from his service revolver, but did not hit Bennett.

Bennett fired another shot, hitting a tree, before shooting himself in the side of the head. Less than an hour before, Bennett shot and killed his stepfather Greg Jones at the home they shared with Bennett's mother off Augusta Street.

Bennett also is implicated in the shooting deaths of two security guards at John D. Hollingsworth on Wheels a few days before.

Harrison was assigned to the downtown area and was held in high esteem by the merchants and restaurant owners there, Interim Police Chief Mike Gambrell said.