A teenager was shot and killed in downtown Rock Hill early Friday, turning a normally busy Old Town corner into a crime scene and leaving neighbors rattled. The pre-dawn killing is the second shooting involving a teen in the city this week and has already led to a heavier police presence in the area.
Victim identified
Rock Hill police identified the victim as 18-year-old Za'Veon Heath and said the shooting happened just before 2:30 a.m. Friday inside the Elizabeth Lane parking deck, according to WBTV. Investigators remained in the deck for hours as the department's Criminal Investigations Division opened a homicide case.
Timeline and investigation
Officers were called to the 100 block of Elizabeth Lane at about 2:20 a.m., where EMS crews responded but Heath was pronounced dead at the scene, and Rock Hill detectives took over the investigation, WSOC-TV reported. That outlet described the victim as 19 years old, a different age than in the WBTV account, and noted police had corrected an earlier error in the listed street name.
Downtown reaction
People who work in Old Town said the news hit hard, even as they insisted the downtown core still feels relatively safe. "I feel Rock Hill is fairly safe and downtown is well patrolled," one worker told WBTV. The Arts Council of York County said its youth classes and storytelling programs have continued without disruption, Executive Director Melanie Cooper told the station.
Community resources and next steps
Local groups such as the Arts Council of York County offer arts programming geared toward young people, giving teens somewhere constructive to be when school is out. For those who might know something but are wary of speaking up, Crime Stoppers of York County keeps an anonymous tip line at 1-877-409-4321. Rock Hill police have asked anyone with information to call the department's non-emergency number at 803-329-7211 or submit tips through the police website as detectives continue to piece together what happened in the deck.
What police say now
As of Friday evening there were no arrests and no public suspect descriptions. Detectives said the investigation is ongoing and again urged witnesses to come forward, WSOC-TV reported. Police continue to collect evidence, review video and go back over witness statements as they work to track down whoever opened fire on Heath.
