Hostage situation at SC home ends when deputies discover body, sheriff says

A hostage situation at a South Carolina home Monday ended when the people being held against their will were freed and a man barricaded inside was found dead, according to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.

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Anthony Lee Safrit suffered what the sheriff’s office called a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, according to a Tuesday news release. A gun was found lying next to Safrit inside a “bunker” beneath the garage of the Wedgefield area home, the sheriff’s office said.

At approximately 12:20 p.m. Monday, the sheriff’s office received a report that two people were being held hostage at their Sally Street residence, according to the release. A relative of one of the hostages received a call from them saying they were being held against their will by Safrit, the sheriff’s office said. They also said that Safrit had open warrants and threatened to kill others at the residence, according to the release.

The relative said they were told family members at the home were being restrained and that Safrit was armed with a handgun, according to the sheriff’s office.

Members of the sheriff’s office Emergency Response Team as well as U.S. Marshals, who had previous contact with Safrit, responded to the home and the armed man was asked to surrender several times, according to the release. The hostages, an 87-year-old man and a 45-year-old woman, were able to escape the home, the sheriff’s office said.

After receiving no response from Safrit deputies searched the home, but didn’t locate the suspect, according to the release.

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But law enforcement officers used a drone which helped them find the bunker in the back of the residence beneath the garage, where it had been reported that Safrit was hiding, the sheriff’s office said. As deputies approached the bunker, they reported hearing what sounded like a gunshot, according to the release.

Using a snake camera, law enforcement was able to see in the bunker and saw Safrit’s body and authorities confirmed he was dead, the sheriff’s office said.

Sheriff Anthony Dennis said the hostages were rescued safely and that no deputies or marshals were injured. Members of the public were not in danger during the incident, according to the sheriff’s office.

There was no word about why Safrit held the family members hostage.

The sheriff’s office said it asked the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to lead an investigation.