3 lawsuits filed in connection to man’s 2018 ambush of officers in Florence County
Three lawsuits were filed last week against the man accused of shooting seven law enforcement officers and killing two in Florence County in 2018.
The lawsuits — two personal injury and one wrongful death case — were filed in Florence County court last week.
The wrongful death lawsuit was filed by Allison Carraway, the widow of Sgt. Terrence Carraway, who was killed in the shooting. Terrence Carrway, 52, had been with the Florence Police Department for almost 31 years.
The two personal injury lawsuits were filed by Brian Hart and Arie Davis, who were both shot during the ambush.
The ambush at the center of the new lawsuits happened when Florence County law enforcement arrived at the home of Frederick Hopkins for a scheduled interview with his son, Seth Hopkins. Seth Hopkins, 28, lived with his parents and was accused of sexually assaulting children.
Fred Hopkins, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, met law enforcement with a high-powered rifle and fired at officers from the second story of his house Oct. 3, 2018, police said.
“They got out of the car, and they were shot before they got to the door,” said Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott in 2018. “These officers did absolutely nothing wrong. This was an ambush you can’t prevent.”
Frederick Hopkins, Seth Hopkins, Cheryl Hopkins, David Suggs and the Suggs Family Revocable Trust are named as defendants in all three of the lawsuits.
The Suggs Family Revocable Trust maintains the property that Frederick and Cheryl Hopkins lived on at the time, which was the site of the shooting at the center of the lawsuits. David Suggs and Cheryl Hopkins, who was married to Frederick Hopkins at the time, are trustees of the Suggs Family Revocable Trust.
The lawsuits state that Seth Hopkins and Cheryl Hopkins share responsibility for the shooting and should be held accountable for Terrence Carraway’s death and for Davis and Hart’s injuries.
Florence County Sheriff’s Deputy Arie Davis said she was shot in the leg, the lawsuit states. Brian Hart, a Florence police officer, said he was shot in the left hand.
The lawsuits hold that Seth Hopkins is responsible as the shooting was a direct result of Hopkins sexually assaulting children and asking his father for protection from police investigations.
Frederick Hopkins was charged with two counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder stemming from the 2018 shooting.
The lawsuits ask for unspecified amounts of money in reparation for the pain, emotional trauma, disability, permanent injuries, money spent on medical treatment, and in Carraway’s case, death, caused by the October 2018 shooting.
The filings state that Cheryl Hopkins is responsible because she owned firearms that she did not store securely and left within the reach of her husband, who she knew “had violent tendencies.”
In 2013, Frederick Hopkins assaulted a Florence County worker who was taking a photo of a county ordinance violation, according to the lawsuit. The filing states that Cheryl was aware of the incident.
Allison Carraway’s wrongful death lawsuit, filed on behalf of the estate of her deceased husband, states that Cheryl Hopkins kept guns in the house despite knowing about her husband’s mental health condition with his post-traumatic stress diagnosis.
Seth Hopkins “knew his actions would cause police to visit the home of Frederick Hopkins,” where Seth Hopkins lived at the time, and “knew or should have known Frederick Hopkins would react violently if law enforcement presented to his home,” according to the wrongful death filing.
Frederick Hopkins shot at law enforcement in order to “protect” Seth Hopkins from criminal prosecution for his sexual assault against children, the lawsuit states.
Charleston attorney John Guerry is representing Allison Carraway and Hart. Columbia attorney Patrick Sharpe is representing Davis.
This story was originally published September 27, 2021 at 3:45 PM.
