A Columbia police officer was killed and another wounded Saturday morning after a domestic dispute call turned into a gunfight that also left the suspect dead. Officer Christopher DeLong died in the shooting, and Officer David Dymock was hospitalized in stable condition.
The killing of DeLong, a two-year veteran of the Columbia Police Department, gave the city a name and a face to the violence: a wife, two young children and a department now mourning one of its own. Chief W.H. "Skip" Holbrook said the department’s hearts were broken and that the officers were deeply hurt.
The officers had responded just after 9:30 a.m. to a home after a woman said a man she had a restraining order against was inside destroying property. By the time they arrived, he had already left. About an hour later, they found the man and the gunfire began.
That gap matters. The call was not to a fast-moving chase or a planned operation, but to a domestic dispute that had already shifted before police reached the scene. The suspect, identified as Adam Tyler Dowdy, was 29 and had an extensive arrest record, including arrests for disorderly conduct, driving under the influence, contempt of court, public intoxication, possession of a controlled substance and probation violations.
Holbrook said one of the officers had succumbed to his injuries and asked the public to keep DeLong’s family, friends and coworkers in their thoughts. He also said prayers were with Dymock as he recovered from wounds sustained in the gunfight.
What is known now is stark and final: DeLong was killed, Dymock survived for the moment in stable condition, and Dowdy was also killed. What remains unanswered is how the officers found Dowdy about an hour later and what led to the exchange of gunfire once they did.
