By Steve Neavling
Two U.S. Marshals Service officers on Friday were wounded in an exchange of gunfire with a fugitive, who was killed by an alleged self-inflicted gunshot wound, at a hotel in Columbia, S.C.
The condition and identities of the officers weren’t immediately available.
The incident occurred as the U.S. Marshals Service attempted to arrest 78-year-old fugitive George Curtis, who was wanted on numerous child rape and abuse charges, the Post and Courier reports.
The U.S. Marshals Service’s Carolina Regional Fugitive Task Force located Curtis at the Extended Stay America on Kinsley Road near Irmo. Curtis was wanted after missing his mid-September trial on the charges.
The federal agency said Curtis shot at task force officers, prompting them to return fire.
The State Law Enforcement Division is investigating the shooting.
