Alex Murdaugh, the South Carolina attorney whose wife and son were shot dead in June in an as-yet unsolved murder, was himself shot Saturday afternoon while changing a tire on a rural road.
Murdaugh, 53, was shot in the head and airlifted to the Medical University of South Carolina hospital in Charleston, according to his attorney, Jim Griffin.
Griffin told the Charleston Post and Courier that Murdaugh was able to telephone his brother, Randy, at about 2:15 p.m. to report the shooting, saying that the shots came from a truck that initially passed him as he worked on his vehicle and then circled back and opened fire.
Randy Murdaugh has not been able to get into the hospital because of COVID-19 protocols, Grifffin said, but the brothers are communicating by phone, “which is obviously an encouraging sign.”
A spokesperson for the family issued a statement saying that they “expect Alex to recover and ask for your privacy while he recovers.”
“The Murdaugh family has suffered through more than any one family could ever imagine,” the statement said.
Earlier, Griffin said that Alex Murdaugh had been on his way from his Hampton County home to Charleston, as CrimeOnline previously reported. Although law enforcement officials did not immediately confirm reports that the victim of the shooting was Alex Murdaugh, South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) spokesman Tommy Crosby later confirmed to FITSNews the identity of the victim. The Hampton County Sheriff’s Office has called in SLED to investigate.
SLED is also investigating the shooting deaths of Alex Murdaugh’s wife, 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh, and his 22-year-old son, Paul Murdaugh, on June 7 at the family’s 1,700-acre hunting preserve, and a 2019 boating accident that killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach, with Paul Murdaugh driving the boat.
Last month, South Carolina 14th circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone recused himself from the investigation, citing a possible conflict of interest based on new information. Prior to his retirement, Alex Murdaugh’s father, Randolph Murdaugh III, ran the 14th circuit solicitor’s office — as did Randolph Murdaugh Jr and Randolph Murdaugh Sr before him — and Alex was working part time in the office at the time of the murders. Randolph Murdaugh III, who was hospitalized at the time, died a few days after the murders of natural causes.
Stone was first attorney not named Murdaugh to hold the position of 14th circuit solicitor.
A wrongful death suit has been filed related to the boat crash. Murdaugh and his other son, Buster, are defendants in that suit.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast
[Featured image: L-R, Richard Alexander “Buster” Murdaugh Jr., Maggie Murdaugh, Paul Murdaugh, and Richard Alexander “Alex” Murdaugh Sr./Facebook]
