Good Guy with a Gun #56: Marlboro County, SC
Original incident: December 25, 2023. With abuse from a domestic partner escalating over the course of weeks, a Christmas Day assault required a woman to use the Great Equalizer to stop the cycle.
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In late 2023, during the weeks leading up to Christmas, a South Carolina woman endured domestic abuse several times at the hands of Nicholas Zapetis.
This ongoing abuse escalated on Christmas Day at their home. Though we don’t know the details, it was bad enough that the woman later had to go to the hospital for treatment.
This time, she fought back — the only way a woman can fight back against a stronger man.
By the time the police arrived, Zapetis was outside the home, perforated with several gunshot wounds. The woman was still inside.
Zapetis stayed in the hospital through early January. As soon as he was released, he was arrested and charged with two counts of domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature. He applied for bond and was denied, and a mental health evaluation was ordered.
Nicholas Zapetis. Photo courtesy of the Marlboro County Sheriff’s office.
That is, unfortunately, the limit of the follow-up information I could find online.
One more thing worth noting: As is so often the case, the police had had no insight into the ongoing abuse inside the home. With that in mind, Sheriff McNeil of the Marlboro County Sheriff’s Office said:
I would like to reiterate that domestic violence will not be tolerated in Marlboro County and we stand behind the survivors in these cases. If you or anyone you know is in a situation where domestic violence is a factor, we encourage you to reach out to Pee Dee Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Assault and know that any resources we can provide, will be provided.
(”Pee Dee” sounds like an acronym, but it’s a geographic region in South Carolina, named after the Pee Dee River that runs through it, which in turn was named for the Pee Dee Native American tribe that lived in that area.)
Sources
I was heartened to see a decent amount of coverage of domestic abuse, even over a holiday weekend.
The Sheriff created an initial Facebook post and a follow-up about the arrest.
That’s the general pattern of coverage: WBTW initial and follow-up, WPDE initial and follow-up, WMBF initial and follow-up.
There was also more limited coverage from ABC News 4 and the Herald Advocate.
Normally I’d like to see more coverage of a defensive gun usage, but in this case, privacy concerns are more important than most other considerations.
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