Suspect arrested after officer killed during shooting at Florence Airport

By Simon Williams and Tonya Brown

FLORENCE, S.C. (WPDE) — An officer was killed in an officer-involved shooting at the Florence Airport, according to Florence County Coroner Keith von Lutcken.

Lutcken identified that officer as 26-year-old Jackson Ryan Winkeler of Dillon. Lutcken says Winkeler was a Florence Regional Airport Officer.

He says the shooting happened shortly before 6:00 a.m. on airport property. Law enforcement officials tell ABC 15 the security officer was conducting a traffic stop at the airport when the shooting happened.

An official with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division says the suspect initially fled the scene, but was later apprehended by Florence County Deputies.

SLED officials have identified the suspect as 37-year-old James Edward Bell. Bell is in the process of being booked at the Florence County Detention Center.

Dozens of police officers and deputies were still on the scene near the Florence Regional Airport Sunday morning, according to Tommy Crosby, with South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED).

Every entrance and exit to the airport was blocked.

The official with SLED says interviews are being conducted and officers are gathering and analyzing forensic evidence.

A man who works at a car wash across the street from the airport said he heard it all go down Sunday morning on his way into work.

“I thought it was like somebody doing fireworks because of the New Year’s and all that. I thought it was fireworks. As I come around the corner, I saw all the police and yellow tape, then I knew it was gunshots, real gunshots,” he said.

He said he wasn’t surprised by what had happened.

“There’s a lot of shootings going on anyways,” he said.

Information will be summarized in a case file report and submitted to prosecutors.

Flights are operating on a normal schedule, according to Florence Regional Airport Director.

Deputies caught the suspect near a car lot on Highway 52 near Effingham in Florence County, according to a source involved in the investigation.

About five officers were on the scene of the incident. They were walking around and taking pictures.

They put up crime scene tape at the entrance of the business.

Community members said there was a police chase that ended at the car lot and a person was arrested.

This is an ongoing investigation. An autopsy for Winkeler is scheduled for Monday, January 6.

The SLED official says this is the first officer-involved shooting in South Carolina in 2020. In 2019, there were 45 officer-involved shootings in South Carolina.