ThinBlueNews Memorial Wall

Police Officer Christopher DeLong, Jr.

Columbia Police Department, South Carolina
End of Watch: Saturday, August 29, 2026

COLUMBIA, S.C. — ThinBlueNews remembers Police Officer Christopher DeLong, Jr. of the Columbia Police Department, whose End of Watch was Saturday, August 29, 2026.

The Officer Down Memorial Page identifies DeLong as a 29-year-old Columbia police officer and classifies his line-of-duty death as gunfire. ODMP says he was killed while responding to a domestic-disturbance call in Columbia’s Southeast Park area.

A call that continued after the first response

WACH reported that officers were first dispatched to a disturbance involving alleged property damage. The station reported that DeLong later located a person and vehicle matching the description from that call near Hazelwood Road. A second officer arrived, and authorities said both officers were struck by gunfire. This remembrance omits graphic detail and does not identify private family members.

ABC Columbia reported that Police Chief Skip Holbrook identified DeLong as the officer who died and said he had served with the department since 2024. The station also reported that a second Columbia officer was injured and that the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is investigating the shooting.

Service and family

ODMP records nearly two years of service with the Columbia Police Department. ODMP and local reporting say DeLong is survived by his wife and two children. ThinBlueNews names no private family members and adds no personal details beyond the public memorial record.

WIS reported that Richland County Coroner Naida Rutherford described DeLong as a husband, father, friend and devoted public servant, while noting that details surrounding the incident were still emerging.

Officer Christopher DeLong, Jr. is remembered for answering a call to protect his community and for the family, colleagues and Columbia community carrying his memory forward.

End of Watch

Police Officer Christopher DeLong, Jr.
Columbia Police Department
South Carolina
End of Watch: Saturday, August 29, 2026
Age: 29
Cause listed by ODMP: Gunfire
Investigation: South Carolina Law Enforcement Division

Sources and visual note

Visual note: ThinBlueNews created an original typography memorial because no officer portrait with documented publication-level reuse authority was established for this run. No portrait, synthetic likeness, representative incident image, badge, seal or invented uniform detail is used.

This is a developing case. ThinBlueNews will update this stable memorial if authorities release materially new verified information. Corrections may be submitted through our corrections and editorial standards page.