Man killed along with three children in Sumter murder-suicide publicly identified
The identity of the man who was also killed when Charles Slacks Jr. fatally shot his two sons and their half-sister has been confirmed by the Sumter County Coroner’s Office.
Carlos Evans, a 38-year-old Sumter resident, died in the domestic shooting before Slacks turned the gun on himself, Coroner Robbie Baker told The State Thursday.
Evans was a command sergeant major in the U.S. Army and an Iraq war veteran who began serving in 2002, Military.com reported.
An autopsy on the Petersburg, Virginia, native was completed Thursday, and he died of a gunshot wound, Baker said.
“Command Sgt. Maj. Carlos Evans was an outstanding leader and caring friend who inspired and lifted up all those around him,” Lt. Gen. Patrick D. Frank, commander of U.S. Army Central, said in a statement. “CSM Evans was well known and respected by all, and the influence and impact he made within the unit will never fade. We collectively mourn the immense loss of his presence in our lives, and our thoughts and prayers are extended to CSM Evans’s family.”
The shooting happened at about 10 p.m. Tuesday, the Sumter Police Department said.
Slacks entered the Whitetail Circle home with a key and proceeded to the back of the house, where he fired several shots at Evans, Sumter Police Chief Russell Roark said.
Slacks proceeded upstairs, where the children — brothers 5-year-old Aayden Holliday-Slacks, 6-year-old Aason Holliday-Slacks and their 11-year-old half-sister, Ava Holliday — were sleeping, Roark said. The children’s mother, who was recently divorced from Slacks, said she heard shots fired before she saw Slacks put the gun to his head and kill himself, according to Roark.
“Little children sleeping in their own bed ... lives taken by a father and a stepfather, that’s difficult to rationalize,” Roark said Wednesday.
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This story was originally published March 23, 2023 at 2:09 PM.
