Two nights after Michael D. Oswald allegedly opened fire on sheriff’s deputies through the door of his West Ashley apartment, somebody broke into Oswald’s apartment, according to an incident report filed by the Charleston Police Department.
On Wed. Sept. 10 at 8:45 a.m., police responded to Apartment 197-G of the Gardens at Ashley River. A witness said the door to Oswald’s apartment was closed at about 9 p.m. the night before, but when he looked again in the morning, he saw that the door was open. An officer saw a footprint in the center of the door and noticed that the door frame was broken on the inside. Nothing inside the apartment was reported missing, but the CPD Crime Scene Unit took photos of the footprint and door frame as evidence.
The State Law Enforcement Division and Charleston County Sheriff’s Office were notified because the apartment is the scene of an ongoing investigation. According to the Sheriff’s Office, deputies approached Oswald’s door last Monday night in reference to a disorderly conduct complaint and were met by a shower of bullets from what has been described as an AK-47-like rifle. An eight-hour standoff ensued, and Oswald was found dead inside his apartment. One of the deputies, Joseph Matuskovic, died at the hospital after at least one round pierced his soft body armor; another deputy, Michael Ackerman, was shot in the leg and is recovering from his injury.
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