Two Killed, One Injured in Recorded Vape Shop Shooting

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Two people are dead after a 28-year-old appears to have opened fire at an Upstate, South Carolina, smoke shop late Wednesday evening.

According to officers of the Rock Hill Police Department (RHPD), 28-year-old Zachary East Elias of Columbia, S.C., was taken into custody after purportedly killing two and injuring a third person inside Budiman’s Smokeshop & Art Gallery at approximately 9:40 p.m. EST on December 4, 2024.

“I was fixing to go in the smoke shop,” eyewitness Cran Neely wrote on Facebook. “Next, I saw a man come out of the store fussing with no shirt and no shoes. I didn’t see anybody run behind him. So I figured he was just fighting and lost… I didn’t see he had a gun at first (sic).”

According to Neely, who has since uploaded three different videos of the fatal shooting, Elias was standing beneath Budiman’s neon lights when he fired several rounds into the window. He then turned his sights on Neely, who was recording the rampage from the confines of his car.

“He saw me and shot in my direction,” continued Neely. “I pulled off. My adrenaline kicked in…  So I got mad and said, ‘F*** no, I’m going to hit this mother f***** with my car…’ I was really going to do it. But I saw he had a big ass weapon (sic).”

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As Neely’s videos expressly reveal, he was shot at approximately eight times before claiming to watch Elias point his “big ass weapon” at a fleeing vehicle. No further rounds were fired, though, as the confounding rampage was abridged by way of a firearm malfunction. 

“He was running towards them,” wrote Neely. “They sped off… God was with them (sic).”

According to WCNC TV (NBC — Charlotte, N.C.), police responded to Budiman’s and watched as Elias absconded from the scene in a Dodge pickup. Within minutes, he sped out and crashed into a concrete bridge overlooking the Catawba River.

Following the crash, Elias allegedly emerged from his vehicle and charged at responding officers on Cherry Road. RHPD has since reported that one officer fired a shot at Elias – which missed – before a second officer deployed their taser on the suspect.

Elias was eventually taken into custody and booked into Rock Hill’s city jail.

Back at Budiman’s, responding officers found three victims with gunshot wounds. An unidentified man and woman were pronounced dead on scene, while a third victim was transported to a nearby hospital. Facebook users maintain this third victim – a female – is “not okay.” 

As of this publishing, Elias has been charged with two counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a weapon during a crime of violence.

The S.C. Law Enforcement Division (SLED) has since confirmed an open investigation into this incident.

This story may be updated.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

Andrew Fancher is a Lone Star Emmy award-winning journalist from Dallas, Texas. Cut from a bloodline of outlaws and lawmen alike, he was the first of his family to graduate college which was accomplished with honors. Got a story idea or news tip for Andy? Email him directly and connect with him socially across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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