Sheriff: Deputies kill man who sent ex-girlfriend gun pics

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — A man who sent threats and photos of a gun to an ex-girlfriend was shot and killed by deputies who were trying to arrest him Wednesday in the third deadly police shooting in South Carolina in four days, authorities said.

The man killed had a gun as the four deputies tried to take him into custody near a Greenville County apartment complex and several shots were fired, Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis said at a news conference.

Investigators have not determined whether the man fired at officers, Lewis said.

The ex-girlfriend called deputies after receiving the gun photos, saying the former boyfriend had suddenly started contacting her again after they broke up, and officers were trying to arrest the suspect on unlawful communication charges, Lewis said.

The man tried to avoid deputies in the apartment complex parking lot, the sheriff said.

“We do think from the erratic behavior inside the parking lot — he didn’t know what he was going to be arrested for, but he knew law enforcement was behind him," Lewis said.

The Greenville County Coroner's Office identified the man killed as Terrance Maurice Sligh, 32, and said an autopsy would be conducted later this week.

Sligh was the third person shot by police in South Carolina the past four days. Deputies in Sumter County killed men in separate shootings on Sunday and Monday.

The State Law Enforcement Division is investigating all the shootings.