After 3 SC teens were fatally shot in York County, Rock Hill plans an anti-violence vigil
Religious and community leaders in Rock Hill will hold a stop the violence rally Tuesday after three teens were shot to death in York County in a three-hour span.
The candlelight vigil and release of blue and white balloons is set for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Fountain Park in downtown Rock Hill. Religious leaders and activists are expected to speak, organizers said.
The public is invited, organizers said. Masks are required and social distancing will be observed.
“We as a community have to do all we can to change this violence that again has brought death to families,” said Maurice Sutter, a Rock Hill community activist who pushed for Tuesday’s vigil. “This is a peaceful event meant to foster positive change in our community. This gun violence has to stop.”
Sutter posted the event on Facebook under a group with almost 2,000 online members called “Stop the Violence of Rock Hill SC.”
Police officials said law enforcement is aware of the vigil.
All three killings that happened Saturday night are being investigated by Rock Hill police and York County Sheriff’s Office deputies as murders. All three shootings remain unsolved.
In the first incident before 7 p.m. on Byars Street. Zyon Minton, 17, and Digarian Foster, 18, were killed while in a yard outside a home, police said. Both teens are from Rock Hill.
Rock Hill Police Department Lt. Michael Chavis said Monday both victims were shot by a suspect who approached on foot. No other details have been released.
In the second Saturday night incident, Paul Harts, 18, was shot on McShea Drive near Finley Road Elementary School around 9:30 p.m. Harts is from Ridgeway in Fairfield County.
Harts was in a car when he was shot, York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson said.
Tolson said deputies have not found any connection between the killing on Byars Street in the city limits and the second shooting on McShea Drive that was just outside the city.
This story was originally published January 26, 2021 at 10:43 AM with the headline "After 3 SC teens were fatally shot in York County, Rock Hill plans an anti-violence vigil."
