Alex Murdaugh attorney: Saturday shooting wasn’t self-inflicted

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS/WCSC) - Alex Murdaugh’s attorney says the injuries from the shooting on Saturday were not self-inflicted.

Murdaugh’s lawyer, Jim Griffin, says family told him there was an entry and exit wound, Murdaugh’s skull was fractured, and there was minor brain bleeding.

These statements were first reported in The Post and Courier and then confirmed by WIS by Griffin and a spokesperson for Alex Murdaugh.

Griffin said Murdaugh pulled over on Old Salkehatchie Road near Varnville when he saw a low tire indicator light come on his Mercedes Benz.

After pulling over a person driving a truck rolled down his window and asked Murdaugh if he was having car trouble. After replying, Griffin said Murdaugh was shot.

Griffin said the driver was a man in a blue pickup.

SLED says Hampton County dispatch received a 911 call from Murdaugh on Saturday at 1:34 p.m. where he told dispatchers that he had been shot.

The Hampton County Sheriff’s Office secured the scene while EMS coordinated medical air transport of Murdaugh to Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, Georgia for treatment of a superficial gunshot wound to the head, SLED spokesman Tommy Crosby said over the weekend.

The Hampton County Sheriff’s Office requested SLED to lead the investigation and SLED personnel were dispatched to the scene at 2:41 p.m. with Lowcountry regional agents arriving on scene at 3:40 p.m. and crime scene agents arriving on scene at 4:30 p.m., Crosby said.

No arrests have been made in the shooting.

Saturday’s incident was the latest in a string of tragedies for the Murdaugh family, a well-known family in the Lowcountry.

Murdaugh is the father of Paul Murdaugh, 22; and the husband of Margaret Murdaugh, 52; who were found shot to death at their hunting property in the rural Colleton County community of Islandton on June 7.

SLED confirmed Alex Murdaugh discovered them after they were shot. The Murdaughs were both shot multiple times, investigators confirmed.

The family has strong connections to the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, which serves Allendale, Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper Counties.

Members of the Murdaugh family ran the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office for about 87 years. When that position became an elected position in 1920, Randolph Murdaugh Sr., Alex Murdaugh’s great grandfather, became the first man elected to the role. He served until he died in a train accident in 1940. His son, Randolph Murdaugh Jr., took over the position after his father’s death and served until his retirement in 1987.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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