A millionaire lawyer has survived being shot in the head just months after his wife and son were killed in a mystery double-murder.
Alex Murdaugh, 53, was attacked on Sunday after stopping to fix a flat tyre in a rural area in Hampton County, South Carolina, his lawyer Jim Griffin, told The State.
A statement added Mr Murdaugh was shot after a truck went past him, before doing U-turn and someone inside opened fire.
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) spokesperson Tommy Crosby confirmed Murdaugh was taken to a hospital in Savannah, Georgia, where he was treated for a “superficial gunshot wound to the head.”
A statement from the family said: “The Murdaugh family has suffered through more than anyone family can ever imagine.
“We expect Alex to recover and ask for your privacy while he recovers.”
Mr Murdaugh was a member of a well-known family of lawyers in the local area, and since the shooting made a statement apologising to his family and friends for hurting them.
He also announced he would be retiring from his law firm to enter rehab, WSPA.
In a statment released through his attorney, Dick Harpootlian: he said: “The murders of my wife and son have caused an incredibly difficult time in my life. I have made a lot of decisions that I truly regret.
“I’m resigning from my law firm and entering rehab after a long battle that has been exacerbated by these murders.
“I am immensely sorry to everyone I’ve hurt including my family, friends and colleagues. I ask for prayers as I rehabilitate myself and my relationships.”
On June 7 Mr Murdaugh found his wife Maggie, 52, and 22-year-old son Paul shot dead in the grounds of his family’s hunting estate in Islandton, South Carolina.
It came as Paul was awaiting trial for the 2019 boating death of a 19-year-old woman.
Police released the tragic 911 call made by the distressed husband and father in which he told the dispatcher, “my wife and child have been shot badly” before desperately pleading with them to “please hurry”.
Mr Murdaugh told police neither his wife or son were breathing when he found them but noticed nothing out of place in the house or grounds near the kennels.
The Murdaugh family are well known in South Carolina, and for generations have served as top prosecutors in the area.