SENECA, S.C. (WSPA) – Community members gathered at the Shaver Recreation Complex in Seneca to hold a prayer vigil for an injured Oconee County deputy.
Corporal Lucas Watts remains hospitalized after being shot while on duty Thursday afternoon.
Pastor James Dyar of the Earles Grove Baptist Church said, “It’s hard to believe this happened to such a great young man. I actually performed the wedding ceremony for Lucas and Haley.”
The shooting occurred during a chase that began with an attempted traffic stop on Highway 11. Watts was taken to the hospital to be treated for critical injuries.
“My dad worked as a Charleston County sheriff’s deputy for 25 years,” said Gregg Varner, an Oconee County resident. “In his 25 years, he had a gun pulled on him one time and there isn’t anything like that. There isn’t anything to compare to that.”
Varner stood amongst others in the community under bright lights with the American flag flying above for a moment of silence and prayer for Corporal Watts.
“The violence that was done to this awesome deputy in Oconee County is not okay and it won’t ever be okay so we came out tonight just to support his family,” Varner said.
The man suspected of shooting Watts, Gregory Maxwell, was shot by deputies during the incident. Maxwell also remains in the hospital.
The officer-involved shooting remains under investigation by the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office.
