A Berkeley County, South Carolina Sheriff's deputy who was wounded in a shootout last year has returned to patrol.
Cpl. Kimber Gist was on duty Feb. 26, 2016 when she approached a suspicious vehicle behind a shopping center on Red Bank Road, according to The Charleston Post and Courier.
The 26-year-old placed one of the two occupants inside the vehicle in the back of her cruiser when a struggle ensued with the second person. Gist became engaged in a close-range shootout and was shot five times.
Gist attempted to make a call for help, but a bullet struck her radio. She was then able to walk and crawl away before flagging down an approaching motorist.
The suspect, Travis Smith, was later found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside a North Charleston home.
Gist underwent five surgeries before she returned to light duty June.
The deputy said that she never doubted that she would return to duty.
"Somebody that was evil tried to take something that I worked hard for," she told the newspaper. "I knew I was coming back."
