He Loved Deeply - And Made That Love Known

Officer Chris DeLong lived to serve others, but the center of his world was always at home - with his wife, Hannah, and their children, Stella and Sutton.

To the community, Christopher Michael DeLong Jr. was Officer DeLong - a young Columbia police officer who proudly wore the badge and had already distinguished himself through courage, compassion and an eagerness to serve.

To his fellow officers, he was a brother. A friend. Someone who wanted to learn, wanted to help and was always ready to get involved.
But to the three people who mattered most to him, he was simply Chris and Dad.

His wife, Hannah, and their children, Stella and Sutton, were the center of his world.

Chris and Hannah had been together since they were teenagers. A close family friend told WIS that the two had been together since they were 16 and described them simply as "inseparable."

Over the years, that teenage relationship became a marriage and a family. And according to those who knew Chris best, there was nowhere he would rather be than home with them.

When he wasn't working, Chris could be found singing and dancing around the house, playing outside with his babies or simply spending time with his family. He took pride in caring for them and making sure they had what they needed.

He loved deeply - and made that love known.

A Friend Wherever He Went

Chris was the kind of person who seemed to know someone everywhere he went.

He would stop. Talk. Laugh. Catch up.
Friends and family remember him as loyal, caring, funny and dependable - the kind of person people genuinely wanted to be around and the kind of friend anyone would be fortunate to have.

When time allowed, he enjoyed duck hunting and playing video games with his buddies. But even those things took a back seat to Hannah, Stella and Sutton.

Family wasn't simply one part of Chris's life. It was the foundation of it.

Living His Dream

On June 10, 2024, Chris joined the City of Columbia Police Department, fulfilling a goal he had worked hard to achieve.

He graduated from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy in January 2025 and threw himself wholeheartedly into the profession.
His fellow officers quickly became more than coworkers. They became brothers and sisters.

And Chris wasn't interested in simply showing up and doing the minimum.
He wanted to learn. He wanted to improve. He wanted to help.

If there was a wanted person to locate or a warrant to serve, Chris was often ready to go. He particularly enjoyed running radar after earning his radar certification and was proud to serve as a member of the department's Mobile Field Force.

Even though he was still early in his own career, Chris made a point of helping newer officers coming behind him - answering questions, offering guidance and sharing what he had learned.

His impact came quickly.

Just months after graduating from the academy, on June 18, 2025, Chris and two fellow officers responded to a life-threatening situation and helped save a life. The three were later recognized with a Life Saving Award.

But some of the recognition Chris received tells another side of the officer behind the badge.
Following a call in November 2025, victims specifically praised the compassion, understanding and empathy he had shown them. Chris refused to give up until he could help provide the answers they needed.

Courage and compassion.

Both were part of how Chris approached the job.

Chris was living his dream.

A Community in Mourning

That dream - and a young family's life - changed in an instant when Chris was killed in the line of duty while responding to an armed suspect. His partner, Officer David Demick, was wounded. The incident remains under independent investigation.

Chris was just 28 years old.

In the days that followed, the Midlands began showing what Chris had meant to the people around him.

Outside Columbia Police Department headquarters, Chris's patrol car became a memorial. Flowers, cards and other tokens of remembrance accumulated as people came to pay their respects.

Inside the department, officers confronted a loss the agency had not experienced in more than half a century: according to WIS, Columbia had not lost an officer violently in the line of duty since 1974.

For a department filled with young officers, the loss was particularly difficult.

But beyond the uniform, the memorials and the ceremonies was a young family facing an unimaginable new reality.

Hannah had lost the person who had been beside her since she was 16.

Stella and Sutton had lost their dad.

Showing Up for Hannah, Stella and Sutton

In the midst of that grief came an extraordinary connection.

Kassy Alia Ray, co-founder and CEO of Serve & Connect, understands Hannah's circumstances in a way very few people can.

Her husband, Forest Acres Police Officer Greg Alia, was killed in the line of duty in 2015. Kassy was 28 years old at the time - the same age Hannah is now - and was raising their infant son, Sal.

Eleven years later, Kassy brought Sal to the memorial at Chris's patrol car.
Sal carried a hand-drawn card he had made for Chris's children.

Standing there together, Kassy explained to her son that when his own father died and Sal was only a baby, the community had gathered around them in much the same way.
It is a heartbreaking connection between two families - but also a reminder of what a community can do when one of its families suddenly needs to be carried.

Serve & Connect is now helping coordinate the community's financial response, with the Columbia Police Department endorsing the organization as an official vehicle for donations. The organization has said funds designated for the DeLong family will go directly to support Hannah and their children.

And that gives the rest of us an opportunity to do something.

We cannot give Stella and Sutton their father back.

We cannot give Hannah back the person who had been beside her since they were teenagers.

We cannot remove the grief being carried by Chris's parents, siblings, friends or fellow officers.

But we can show up.

We can remember Chris.

We can honor his service.

And we can help make sure that while Hannah navigates the days ahead, worrying about how to provide for her family doesn't have to compound an already unimaginable loss.

More Than the Badge

Chris's life was far too short.
But a life isn't measured only by its length.

Chris's can be measured in the people he loved, the friendships he built, the lives he helped save, the people he treated with compassion, the young officers he encouraged and the community he chose to serve.

And perhaps most of all, it can be measured in the little family that meant everything to him.

Beneath the uniform was a husband who wanted to come home to his wife.

A dad who wanted to play outside with his children.

A man who sang and danced around the house.

A man who worked hard to make sure his family was taken care of.

A man who loved deeply - and made sure they knew it.

To his fellow officers, Chris will always be one of their own.

To his family and friends, he will always be Chris.

To Stella and Sutton, he will always be Dad.

Help Support the DeLong Family

In the days and years ahead, Hannah, Stella and Sutton will need the community that Chris spent his career serving.

Readers who would like to help can donate directly through the family's official fundraiser coordinated through Serve & Connect.