A fundraiser has been set up for a Rock Hill family after their father was killed and their mother was injured in a shooting at a smoke shop this week.
At around 9:45 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 4, a gunman walked into Budiman's Smokeshop & Art Gallery on Cherry Road, Rock Hill police reported. The shooter reportedly "walked into the back of the shop looking for potential victims."
"Her wishes are for you to understand that his defendant deprived their six children of their father," a court representative said Thursday.
Emad Saadalla, a customer at the shop, was shot to death. His wife, Leana, was seriously injured in the shooting and taken to the hospital.
Another woman, employee Celci Johnson, was also killed in the shooting. A fourth person narrowly escaped through a back exit.
Family members told WBTV that Leana Saadalla is expected to survive but requires more surgery and could potentially lose part of her arm due to the shooting.
"They were very good, devoted parents," Susan Lasonde, Emad's mother, told WBTV.
The family had just moved to South Carolina from Florida and includes six children between ages 15 years old and 2 months old.
"If you feel that you would like to donate... If you can pray for them... please send me a message," Kelsey Clinton wrote on GoFundMe.
Zachary Elias, 28, was arrested in connection with the shooting following a brief pursuit with police. Authorities said Elias was unprovoked in his alleged attack and had consumed a psychedelic substance earlier that day.
"I'm sorry for his parents... I will never see my granddaughter again," said Celci Johnson's grandmother during Thursday's court hearing.