Cayce, SC 04/24/2022 (Paul Kirby) – People across the U.S. are joining the City of Cayce, Police Department, and the law enforcement community as they mourn the loss of one of their own early Sunday morning. According to the City of Cayce Spokesperson Ashley Hunter, K-9 Handler, and Police Officer Andrew “Drew” Barr, 28, was killed after responding to a domestic dispute shortly before 3:00 a.m. with several other officers.
According to Cayce Police Chief Chris Cowan, the trio of officers responded to the call on Rossmore Drive. When they arrived, the suspect who was on the lawn of the home at this point, opened fire on the officers. At that point, the male suspect barricaded himself and a tense 7-hour negotiation began that was led by a team from the City of Columbia Police Department. That ended when the suspect took his own life. He has not yet been identified by Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher.
Barr had been with Cayce since 2016. He graduated from the SC Criminal Justice Academy in 2017. He had served as a firefighter-EMT, and a public safety officer. He had recently been promoted to the Cayce Police Department’s K-9 team where he was partnered with K-9 Molly. Barr was not married and had no children at the time of his death.
Nationwide news outlets had already begun reporting by 11:00 a.m. Sunday morning on Barr’s death that Cayce Police Chief Cowan called, “inexcusable!” At a Sunday morning news conference, Chief Cowan said of Barr, “He was committed to this community, and he cared about nothing else than serving this community.”
More details are expected later. Coroner Fisher will have the responsibility of releasing the shooter’s identity once that is appropriate.

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