A social gathering in Elloree, South Carolina, turned deadly on the evening of Friday, March 14, 2025, when 19-year-old Darius Aiken was fatally shot. Deputies from the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office found two people with gunshot wounds at a Cardinal Road home around 8 p.m.; Aiken was pronounced dead at the scene and a second person was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries from bullet shrapnel.

Investigators say a 16-year-old neighbor who had been socializing with the group told deputies he consumed a marijuana-laced gummy, began to feel hot and panicked, and reported seeing two people in the kitchen wearing white masks. He then retrieved a shotgun from his father’s bedroom and opened fire. The sheriff’s office later clarified that neither Aiken nor the other victim was wearing a mask. Authorities are examining whether the gummy was laced with a hallucinogen.

The 16-year-old suspect was taken into custody and charged with murder, attempted murder, and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. Aiken, a 2024 graduate recently returned to Elloree from Summerton, played on Clarendon Hall’s football and basketball teams and was remembered for his infectious smile.