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YouTuber to Mass-Murderer | Randy Stair's Dark Fantasy World
Coffeehouse Crime's 30-minute breakdown, the fullest single telling on file.
Watch on YouTubeWhat happened
On the night of June 7 into the early morning of June 8, 2017, Randy Robert Stair, a 24-year-old employee of the Weis Markets supermarket in Eaton Township, Pennsylvania, arrived for his late-night shift at approximately 11:00 p.m. Over the next roughly hour and forty minutes, he blocked several emergency exits with pallets and other store items. Surveillance footage showed him leaving the store to further block an emergency exit using his car, after which he retrieved two pistol grip pump-action shotguns concealed in a duffel bag. Stair re-entered the store and locked the door behind him.
Stair then killed three co-workers: Victoria Brong, 25, an assistant tag manager, shot four times; Brian Hayes, 47, the night manager and a U.S. Navy veteran, shot five times; and Terry Lee Sterling, 63, a shop assistant, shot twice. He approached a fourth co-worker, Kristan Newell, but chose to spare her. He continued firing at store aisles, counters, and propane tanks, none of which exploded. Newell escaped the store and called 911; while she was on the phone with emergency services, Stair fatally shot himself. Investigators determined a total of 59 shots were fired, all from a single one of the two shotguns he had brought.
State Police investigators found that Stair had maintained an extensive online presence, primarily on YouTube (where he had posted since 2008 under the channel PioneersProductions) and Twitter, later shifting to an animated series called Ember's Ghost Squad that he had become increasingly immersed in. In the months before the attack, he posted materials referencing plans for "something massive," including videos of target practice and a tour of the store. Hours before the shooting, he uploaded a final video and posted links to files including recordings labeled "Suicide Tapes," a journal, and other materials referencing prior mass-casualty attacks. He also sent a suicide note by text to his mother and an email to an acquaintance shortly before the attack.
Investigators seized shotgun cartridges, protective equipment, notebooks, drawings, digital storage devices, and other materials from Stair's residence. Wyoming County District Attorney Jeff Mitchell characterized the case as involving severe mental illness. Other named professionals commented publicly on aspects of Stair's psychological state and online behavior in the aftermath.
The shooting drew local and national media attention. A vigil was held at the Wyoming County Courthouse on the evening of June 8, 2017. A GoFundMe campaign was organized by a relative of one victim. Weis Markets closed the affected store, later reopening it after remodeling on July 13, 2017, a decision that drew mixed reactions from community members and victims' families.
