The assailant was arrested the day before he opened fire on his estranged wife and her family
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A South Carolina family is asking for help in caring for a child whose family members were killed in a shooting two days after Christmas.
The family is asking for funds to help a 5-year-old boy who was left an orphan on Friday, Dec. 27, after his father Darius Seay, 44, killed his estranged wife, Adriene Seay (who was the boy’s mother, and was also known as Kim), along with the child’s uncle Andrew and the boy’s grandfather John, according to WCIV-TV, WCSC-TV and The Post and Courier.
The violence occurred at about 4:40 p.m., North Charleston police told the outlets. An armed Darius allegedly burst into the apartment and shot the victims, who at the time were helping build toys for the 5-year-old for Christmas, according to WCIV-TV.
Darius had been arrested on an assault and battery charge the night before the incident, but was released on a $10,000 bond, the Post and Courier reported. After the fatal shooting, the 44-year-old took his son to another home, per the outlets.
Police responded to the scene, and Darius surrendered the child before shooting himself with an AR-15-style rifle, North Charleston police told the Post and Courier. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Following the violence, Kim’s family released a statement to WCIV-TV, saying, “We are devastated by the senseless murders of Kim, John and Andrew. Our united focus is honoring their legacies through loving and raising Kim’s son.”
In a GoFundMe set up for the family, the organizer, Rebecca Cleavenger, added that “the traumatic events this boy witnessed are unbelievably devastating.” She also noted that Kim’s brother David Childs and his wife Kaeley have taken custody of the boy and will care for him “indefinitely.”
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“The Childs family will need physical and emotional help,” stated the GoFundMe, which has raised nearly $42,000, as of Jan. 3. “Please consider helping this loving family in their desperate time of need!”
According to court documents obtained by the Post and Courier, Darius and Kim married in April 2015, but he filed for divorce on March 4, 2024, after alleging Kim had threatened him with a knife the day prior and had hit him on multiple occasions.
A judge’s order obtained by the outlet also noted that the child, born in 2019, was scheduled to be under Kim’s care from Dec. 25 after 2 p.m. until Dec. 30 before the former couple shared custody of the child in the new year.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.