Officials: Rock Hill man kills mother-in-law, self at Fort Mill business
A Rock Hill man fatally shot his mother-in-law before killing himself in a double shooting Monday afternoon in Fort Mill, officials said.
James Alexander Vinton, 39, killed Deborah Elaine Buchanan, 68, of Charlotte, at the H&R Block tax business on Main Street in Fort Mill, said York County Coroner Sabrina Gast. Vinton then shot himself, Gast said.
Both died at the scene, Gast said.
Autopsy and toxicology tests remain pending.
Fort Mill Police Department officers and deputies with the York County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene around 1:15 p.m. Monday, said Jeff Helms, Fort Mill Police Department chief.
“What happened here by all indications is a murder-suicide,” said Fort Mill police Maj. Bryan Zachary. “But we are still investigating what led up to the shootings.”
No motive for the shootings was clear Tuesday morning as the investigation continued, Zachary said.
The business was open at the time of the shooting, as were other businesses adjacent to the crime scene, Zachary said. No other people in the business or nearby were hurt, said Helms and Zachary from the police department.
The business is on Main Street near the intersection of Tom Hall Street. Police blocked Main Street for hours as officers collected evidence and interviewed witnesses, then re-opened the street to traffic late Monday.
This story was originally published September 1, 2020 at 8:37 AM with the headline "Officials: Rock Hill man kills mother-in-law, self at Fort Mill business."
