SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Deputy Austin Aldridge of the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina was shot and killed in the line-of-duty last year. On Tuesday, his wife gave birth to the couple’s first child. Jessica Aldridge announced the birth of Claire Austin Aldridge in a Facebook post on Feb. 21, WOWT reported.
“[Claire] is so precious and the perfect, heavenly gift,” the family said in the announcement on Facebook. “She is the answer to our many prayers. While we experience a roller coaster of emotions, we are so thankful for this sweet miracle. She is the perfect mix of her mommy and daddy. She even has his little chin.”
Deputy Aldridge, 25, was a three-year veteran of the department at the time he was killed, Sheriff Chuck Wright said. Following his death, the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office posted a tribute to him along with a picture of him handing a teddy bear to a little boy.
Deputy Aldridge was murdered while responding to a call for a domestic disturbance on June 21, 2022. The Officer Down Memorial Page offered the following details:
Deputy Sheriff Austin Aldridge was shot and killed while responding to a domestic call at 3:20 pm on Chaffee Drive in Spartanburg.
When Deputy Aldridge approached the house, he was ambushed by the subject. Bystanders gave medical aid to Deputy Aldridge until EMS arrived and then provided responding officers with a description of the subject and his vehicle.
Another deputy spotted the subject and attempted a traffic stop. The man pretended to surrender but shot at the deputy, who returned fire, before fleeing again. After crashing his vehicle the subject engaged in another shootout before running into the woods, where members of the SWAT team and a police canine took him into custody. He was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. No officers were injured in the pursuit and apprehension of the subject.
Deputy Aldridge was transported to the hospital and succumbed to his wounds at 9:26 pm.
Deputy Aldridge is survived by his wife, Jessica, and now a newborn. The family said they are adapting to a new normal without their loved one. However, Claire has brought “new joy and reasons to smile,” according to WOWT.
The man arrested for the murder of Deputy Aldridge was identified as 63-year-old Duane Heard. He later died in custody due to deteriorating health, apparently from the gunshot wounds sustained when he was captured.
