A Greenville police officer running after a “known gang member” in the Nicholtown Community was shot multiple times as he rounded the corner of a house before he died Friday afternoon, Greenville Police Chief Ken Miller said.
The suspect in the shooting took his own life while being surrounded by police officers near the Swamp Rabbit Trail, Miller said. Officer Allen Jacobs, 28, a decorated veteran of the Iraqi War, was the father of two young boys and his wife is pregnant, Miller said. The suspect, Deontea Perry Mackey, 17, died after he shot himself, Miller said. Miller said Mackey was listed in a national police data base as a gang member. Miller would not identify the gang.
Jacobs’ weapon was still holstered and he was wearing a bullet-proof vest. The incident began at about 12:20 when officers patrolling in the Nicholtown Community saw Mackey and wanted to talk with him about a weapon, Miller said. He said they were not trying to serve a warrant as he previously stated. Officers approached Mackey to conduct a field interview and Mackey took off running, he said.
As Mackey rounded the corner of a house, he was met with a hail of gunfire, Miller said. In the next few minutes, Mackey would take his own life, Miller said. “We lose, we hurt, we ache,” Miller said. “No one wants to lose their officers.”
Police were on patrol on Rebecca Street at about 12:20 p.m when the suspect fled. The suspect, who Miller described as a "self-admitted gang member," led officers on a chase that snaked through woods and behind houses before he opened fire and struck one of the officers multiple times.
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