A devastated family has spoken out after an armed man shot into their home in Rock Hill over the weekend, and later killed 19-year-old Camariya Tidwell. On Saturday, May 16, she was killed in her family’s front yard on Mt. Gallant Road around 11 pm. The family shared a video of a man who they say had been at their home earlier that day.
A shocking surveillance video shows the suspect firing a shot into the house before Tidwell’s fatal shooting.
The suspect, 34-year-old Sean Xavier Hubbard, was soon taken into custody at an address on Fig Branch Road, police said. His capture involved a SWAT activation with assistance from the York County Sheriff’s office.
Hubbard remains jailed without bond. The investigation is ongoing.
What was the motive?
Police said that Tidwell was not the intended target, according to WSOC-TV. However, family members told WCNC Charlotte the violence began days earlier when several shots were fired into the home on a different day while relatives, including children, were inside.
“He shot four gunshots through my son’s room and my son and my grandson were laying in their bed,” Shifarnia McCullough, Tidwell’s mother, said.
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Tidwell’s brother, Caleb Tidwell, said that the family had been living in fear in the days that led up to the shooting.
“For a week straight, he stalked my family’s home,” Caleb said. “He terrorized my family.”
Relatives said that Hubbard had previously worked on a family member’s car. He had been hired after being found through social media. However, there were tensions after a cousin told Hubbard she no longer wanted him working on the vehicle.
“I told him that I didn’t want him to work on my car,” cousin Jamya McCullough said. “This man threatened me and I immediately blocked him.”
The family installed security cameras after the initial shooting. They claimed that the cameras later captured Hubbard returning to the house Saturday evening and firing through the front door while the house was empty. This footage helped cops identify him as a suspect.
The family said that they requested officers to remain near the home while they packed belongings and prepared to leave as they were afraid Hubbard would return.
“I asked them, can someone stay here at least until me and my family could leave here,” Shifarnia said.
Rock Hill police remained in the area while searching for Hubbard, but could not locate him before the shooting.
“We did keep officers in that area for a while to continue to circulate and look for the car,” Lt. Michael Chavis said. “But unfortunately he managed to come back, get back to the house on foot and shoot at 11 o’clock, which killed our victim.”
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The family believes Hubbard waited for police to leave and then returned to the home.
“We never believed he left,” Caleb said. “He circled the block, waited outside our home until police left and then came back.”
Hours after the earlier shooting, Hubbard was seen on surveillance video walking near the side of the home moments before he shot Tidwell dead.
Who was Camariya Tidwell?
Tidwell’s mother described her late daughter as “kind, compassionate,” and as someone who “loved her dog Chucky and “her family.”
Jamya called her cousin “sweet as gold.”
“My cousin was innocent and she should have still been here today,” she said.
Tidwell’s mom said she is struggling with both grief and forgiveness after the incident.
“I’m a Christian and I know we are supposed to forgive,” Shifarnia said. “But I don’t have forgiveness because my daughter will never come back to me.”
Shifarnia said that she feels more could have been done to save her daughter’s life, per WBTV.
“Innocent child, my daughter was bright. She had a future ahead of her. 19 years old. Humble, you wouldn’t have met nobody better than her, now she ain’t here,” she said.
