Charles Slacks Jr shot and killed his two children and one stepchild, along with his ex-wife’s male coworker Carlos Evans

One of the victims of the tragic shooting at a home in Sumter has been identified by the Army as Command Sergeant Major Carlos Evans, who was 38 years old at the time of the incident.

Evans, originally from Petersburg, Virginia, had been a member of the Army since 2022 and had been stationed at the Army base in Sumter, South Carolina.

He had served with U.S. Army Central since 2021. The incident resulted in the deaths of five individuals, including three children, and remains under investigation.

In a statement, Lt. Gen. Patrick D. Frank, U.S. Army Central Commanding General, described Command Sgt. Maj. Carlos Evans as a remarkable leader and caring friend who inspired and uplifted those around him.

CSM Evans was widely respected and admired, and his impact on the unit will be long-lasting.

The incident occurred on Tuesday night in the Woodridge subdivision, according to Sumter Police Chief Russell Roark. Roark explained that a woman was outside her home with a male coworker, who was later identified as Evans.

While they were outside in the back of the home, Roark said the woman’s ex-husband, Charles Slacks Jr., entered the home using a key.

According to Roark, Slacks fatally shot Evans and the woman’s three children, who were sleeping in their bed, before taking his own life.

Two of the children were Slacks’ own kids, while the third was their half-sibling. “As adults, we’re not conditioned to bury children,” Roark said during a press conference.

“As a community in our nation, we’re not conditioned to bury a child. That’s foreign to us, it’s very shocking.” The children were identified as 5-year-old Aiden Holiday Slacks, 11-year-old Eva Holiday, and 6-year-old Aason Holiday Slacks.

Sumter Police Chief Russell Roark expressed his difficulty in comprehending the situation, saying “When you have a situation where little children were sleeping in the comfort of their own bed and at no fault of their own had their life taken particularly by a father and a stepfather, that’s difficult for us to rationalize.”

A neighbor, Hung Nguyen, also expressed shock and concern for the community, stating “For the past it was peace. It just, I don’t know, it just big surprise, big shock. But this place is peace.

A lot of kids, they hang around here but now it’s…I think everybody gonna freak out.” Nguyen mentioned that his children attend the same schools as the victims, with two of the siblings attending Milwood Elementary School and the oldest attending Alice Drive Middle School.