In the quiet town of Union, South Carolina, the life of 49-year-old Kiran Patel, a woman of Indian descent, was tragically cut short on the evening of September 16, 2025. A hardworking immigrant and the manager of DD's Food Mart on South Pinckney Street, she was a familiar and friendly face to her regular customers. On that Tuesday night, as she was counting the day's earnings at the register, a routine task she had performed countless times, her life took a devastating turn.
Around
10:30 p.m., a man, later identified as 21-year-old Zaedan Mack Hill, entered the convenience store. In an act of brazen violence, Hill allegedly climbed onto the counter and opened fire before Patel had a chance to hand over any money. In a moment of courageous defiance, Patel threw a plastic bottle at her assailant and attempted to flee for her life. The armed man pursued her into the parking lot, continuing to fire as she ran. She was struck by the gunfire and collapsed about 20 feet from the store's entrance. In a final act of brutality, the attacker reportedly returned to where she lay unconscious and fired at her again before fleeing the scene. When emergency services arrived, they found Kiran Patel in the parking lot with fatal gunshot wounds.
The investigation into her senseless murder led law enforcement to Zaedan Mack Hill. On September 19, after an hours-long standoff with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, SWAT, and Union Public Safety officers, Hill was taken into custody. Investigators were able to link him to the murder of Kiran Patel, as well as another shooting that occurred earlier the same day where 67-year-old Charles Nathan Crosby was found deceased in his yard. Forensic evidence, including nine-millimeter shell casings found at both crime scenes, connected Hill to both incidents. He has since been charged with murder and is being held at the Union County Jail without bond. The community has been left in shock and mourning for a life taken so violently, remembering Kiran Patel as a dedicated and kind-hearted individual.
