On September 15, 1997, 56-year-old Charles Griffeth, the personnel director at the R.E. Phelon Company lawn mower parts factory in Aiken, South Carolina, was shot and killed at his workplace. The shooter, former employee Hastings Arthur Wise, returned to the factory claiming he was there to collect personal belongings and encountered Griffeth in the personnel office. Griffeth was shot twice in the back and died at the scene.

The attack continued through the factory and resulted in three other employees also being killed that morning. Wise, who had been terminated in July after a confrontation with a supervisor, was arrested and charged in connection with the shootings. Phelon Company or knew Charles Griffeth is asked to come forward with information that might shed light on that day.