‘Tragic’ and ‘horrific.’ Lake City, SC residents react to Mexico kidnapping of 4 of their own
Residents of Lake City, South Carolina ask for prayers after the recent killing of two natives to the area in Matamoros, Mexico.
Latavia “Tay” Washington McGee drove with Zindell Brown, Shaeed Woodard and Eric Williams to Mexico on Friday when they were shot at and kidnapped, Mexican officials reported.
Both Brown and Woodard were killed. All four were natives of Lake City, but McGee and Brown were living in Myrtle Beach.
Sitting outside of the Lake City Walmart on Wednesday, Jaz, who declined to give her last name, identified herself as a first cousin of McGee and Woodard. Jaz “hasn’t been eating” and wished her large family in the Lake City area would have been there to protect McGee.
Jaz said her family wants people to refrain from assuming the individuals went to Mexico for drugs.
CNN reports that the four had traveled to Mexico for McGee to have a medical procedure. McGee was scheduled on Friday to receive a type of cosmetic surgery.
Lake City mayor Yamekia Robinson said, “it’s been a very tough few days. We have been just trying to keep the family, the community close with prayer,” in a NewsNation interview uploaded on Tuesday.
“Our family, our community is very knitted. So if one hurts, we all hurt,” Robinson said.
“Tragic” and “horrific” were words Mandy Johnson of Georgetown used to describe the hostage situation.
Johnson, her sister and sister-in-law discussed the situation over lunch at Baker’s Sweets Bistro and Bakery in downtown Lake City on Wednesday. Johnson had only just learned that the victims were from the area.
