In the winter of 2019, a tragic and violent event cut short the life of 20-year-old Zuinquarius McCorey in Rock Hill, South Carolina. On the afternoon of February 26th, McCorey and his friend, 23-year-old Malik McCullough, were found inside a Chevrolet Impala that had crashed into a fence at the intersection of Chestnut Street and Jones Avenue. Emergency responders were initially called to what appeared to be a car accident, but they soon discovered a much more grim reality: both men had been
shot. McCorey and McCullough were pronounced dead at the scene, turning a residential street into the focus of a double homicide investigation.
The initial investigation left the community on edge, with police initially stating they had no solid leads or suspects. However, they believed the attack was not random and that the victims likely knew their assailant. This theory would soon prove to be devastatingly accurate. The investigation quickly pointed to a 16-year-old acquaintance of the victims, Sam Saadiq Robinson. Believing he was their friend, McCorey and McCullough had been riding in a car with Robinson in the backseat just before they were both shot in the back of the head in what prosecutors would later describe as an execution-style killing. After the shooting, the car, still in drive, rolled down the street and crashed.
In the immediate aftermath, Robinson fled the scene and hid the murder weapon. In a chilling turn of events, a neighbor who heard the gunshots saw Robinson run from the area, only for him to return to the scene moments later, feigning concern and telling the neighbor he was there to 'check on his buddies.' This quick-thinking neighbor kept Robinson at the scene while contacting 911. Robinson was questioned by police that day but was not immediately arrested. He then fled to Charlotte, North Carolina, where he was apprehended on March 1, 2019.
The motive for the senseless violence was later revealed to be related to Robinson's desire to gain status within the Crips gang. The day before the murders, Robinson had fired shots at a house on Chestnut Street where one of the victims lived. Investigators believe Robinson overheard McCrorey discussing retaliation for the house shooting and decided to kill both men out of fear of being discovered. Sam Saadiq Robinson, charged as an adult, pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and five weapons charges. In March 2021, the now 18-year-old Robinson was sentenced to the maximum of 50 years in prison for the murders of Zuinquarius McCorey and Malik McCullough. During the sentencing, the victims' families expressed their profound grief and called for an end to senseless gun violence.
