On the evening of December 4, 2024, a tragedy unfolded at Budiman's Smokeshop & Art Gallery on Cherry Road in Rock Hill, South Carolina, claiming the life of 49-year-old Emad Thabet Saadalla. Saadalla, a male customer at the shop, was caught in an act of sudden and unprovoked violence. Another individual, a 27-year-old employee named Celci Johnson, was also fatally shot, while a third person sustained injuries.
The incident began when a man entered the smoke shop and opened fire on the
occupants. The shooter, later identified as 28-year-old Zachary East Elias of Columbia, South Carolina, had reportedly purchased a 'psychedelic substance' from the same location earlier in the day. The entire event was captured by the store's surveillance cameras, which showed a shirtless Elias rushing into the establishment with a rifle and shooting at the people inside. After the shooting, he reportedly searched a back room for more victims before fleeing the scene in a silver Dodge truck.
Responding police officers spotted Elias leaving the premises with a firearm and a chase ensued. The pursuit ended when Elias crashed his vehicle near the bridge over the Catawba River. After exiting the truck, he confronted the officers and was subdued after a brief struggle, during which a taser was used. An officer also fired a shot at Elias but did not hit him.
Zachary East Elias was taken into custody and is being held at the Rock Hill jail. He faces multiple charges, including two counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder, and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. During legal proceedings, his defense attorneys argued that he was in a state of 'drug-induced psychosis' from a chocolate bar he had consumed. Prosecutors countered that he knowingly ingested the substance to alter his reality. A judge denied Elias's request for bail, deeming him a threat to public safety, and he remains jailed as the investigation continues. Emad Thabet Saadalla was remembered as the sole provider for his family, which includes his wife, who was injured in the attack, and their six children.
