South Carolina – Tragedy struck in Sumter, South Carolina on Tuesday night when a former soldier entered a home and shot and killed three children and an Army soldier who worked with their mother.
The ex-soldier, Charles Slacks Jr., then turned the gun on himself. The victims included Ava Holliday, 11, and her half-brothers Aayden Holliday-Slacks, five, and Aason Holliday-Slacks, 6.
Authorities indicated that Slacks had been divorced from the children’s mother, but still had access to the home in Sumter and let himself in around 10 p.m. on Tuesday evening. The mother’s phone was upstairs charging, so she ran to seek the help of her wounded co-worker who was shot in the backyard. Upon hearing gunshots, the mother rushed back inside the home and saw Slacks at the top of the stairs, where he eventually took his life.
The police chief of Sumter, Russell Roark, emphasized the heinous nature of the crime, noting how the “little children were sleeping in the comfort of their own bed.” Roark also noted that investigators have not yet determined why Slacks chose to come to the home or whether he was permitted to have a key.
In addition to Ava, the youngest victim was set to start kindergarten in the fall at Millwood Elementary School, which is part of the Sumter School District. Superintendent William Wright released a statement expressing the district’s grief over losing three students.
State Sen. Thomas McElveen, who represents Sumter and is a father of three himself, expressed his own despair and called for a moment of silence in the state Senate: “As a father, I am absolutely nauseated up here talking about it.”
The tragedy in Sumter has left many in shock and searching for answers. The investigation is ongoing, and authorities continue to work to determine why Slacks perpetrated such unspeakable violence against innocent victims.