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Officer Anthony DeLustro has been charged after a fatal shooting in Summerville, South Carolina

An off-duty police officer in South Carolina was charged with murder Wednesday after authorities said he shot a man after getting into an altercation in the parking lot of a Chick-fil-A.

According to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, as of March 20, Anthony DeLustro, 64, was an off-duty police officer employed by the Summerville Police Department. DeLustro got into a confrontation with a man named Michael O'Neal, 39, in the parking lot of a Chick-fil-A in Summerville, South Carolina.

According to an affidavit, witnesses described DeLustro as the primary aggressor in the altercation. They called O'Neal a homophobic slur and told him he was under arrest while presenting his police credentials. The affidavit states that punches and kicks broke out between the two men as passersby tried to separate them. During the struggle, a handgun fell from DeLustro's holster onto the pavement behind his vehicle.

According to the affidavit, O'Neal retreated from the fight and an eyewitness told investigators he heard O'Neal say he wanted to leave. The affidavit states that O'Neal was returning to his vehicle to leave when DeLustro, who was being held by a passerby, told him he would shoot him if he left.

The affidavit states that DeLustro then broke away from the bystander, ran to retrieve his gun from the sidewalk and approached O'Neal's vehicle, where he opened the passenger door and entered the vehicle. Eyewitnesses said they heard O'Neal DeLustro yell, “Get out of my car.”

According to the affidavit, DeLustro fired a single shot from his gun as O'Neal drove away, killing him at the scene.

DeLustro told law enforcement that he knew the victim was trying to leave the area and that he intended to stop him. He also admitted that he had never seen O'Neal with a gun or other weapon and that O'Neal had never threatened to use any weapon.

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The off-duty officer had a long career in law enforcement

At a bond denial hearing Wednesday night, DeLustro told the judge that he had dedicated his life to public service, that he was 21 years old and said he was at Ground Zero after 9/11. He also told the judge that he and his wife would take care of their granddaughters after losing their daughter in 2021.

“I have never received a single substantiated complaint in the 35 years I have been in law enforcement and I am simply asking for your mercy so I can help my wife with the girls while we go through this,” DeLustro said.

DeLustro did not speak about the shooting or O'Neal during the hearing.

The victim's family is speaking out and the investigation into the shooting is ongoing

O'Neal's family released a statement on a GoFundMe page set up to help the family with his funeral and possible legal costs.

“We are all devastated by the untimely and violent death of our dear Michael – or Mike, Mikey or O'Neal,” the family said. “This is a family that has great respect for law enforcement in general, but is fully aware that no profession is free of bad actors. “We remain optimistic that SLED detectives will find the truth and ensure justice,” the statement reads.

The South Carolina Department of Law Enforcement said the investigation is ongoing and active.

Gabe Hauari is a nationally featured news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at [email protected].

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