Online Friend Recalls Randy Stair's 2016 Threat Video Before 2017 Weis Shooting Killed 3
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jun 27
Online Friend Recalls Randy Stair's 2016 Threat Video Before 2017 Weis Shooting Killed 3
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 27
Summary
Sammy said a 2016 Randy Stair video describing how he would kill her was the moment she permanently cut off contact, less than a year before his 2017 attack at a Pennsylvania Weis Markets.
The video, titled "A Promise Kept," included graphic threats, a missing-person poster resembling Sammy and an animated image of Stair holding what appeared to be her severed head.
Sammy said Stair had grown darker online for years, posting cryptic messages, deleting erratic tweets and sharing violent videos as his fixation on the Danny Phantom character Ember McLain deepened.
On June 8, 2017, Stair, 24, blocked store exits, fired 59 shots during an overnight shift and killed co-workers Terry Sterling, 63, Victoria Brong, 25, and Brian Hayes, 47, before killing himself.
The recollection appears in Investigation Discovery's "Deadly Influence: The Social Media Murders," as Sammy says she is speaking out to urge people to report warning signs when someone appears to be in crisis.
How did a YouTuber's obsession with a cartoon ghost escalate into a triple murder-suicide?
An online friend saw direct threats; where is the line between dark fantasy and real-world danger?
Nine years after the shooting, has stalled legislation left Pennsylvania workers just as vulnerable?
The Weis Markets Mass Shooting: Digital Red Flags, Mental Health, and the Push for Stronger Prevention Laws
Overview
This report highlights how states are expanding crisis intervention measures to prevent gun violence, with a strong focus on new 'red flag' laws. After a mass shooting in Lewiston in 2023, Maine voters approved an Extreme Risk Protection Order law, allowing family and household members to directly petition courts to remove firearms, replacing the older system that required a mental health evaluation first. At the same time, protections for domestic violence survivors have been strengthened in several states, such as Illinois passing 'Karina’s Law,' which requires immediate firearm surrender by alleged abusers. These changes show a growing commitment to early intervention and community safety.