ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. (WDRB) — Cherie Turner, Prayash Baniya, Subash Ghale and Nadia Browne have all been identified as the victims of a violent night in Elizabethtown.
All four were shot late Thursday night at two separate locations. Police have arrested 35-year-old Shadrach Peeler in connection with the shootings.
Baniya and Ghale both worked at the T-Mart Gas Station on North Miles Street in Elizabethtown. A memorial filled with handwritten messages outside the store continue to grow.
"I come in and out all the time," said Ashley Richardson, adding that the victims were loved by customers and that's why the makeshift memorial was created. "They knew your name. You come in, [and] they greet you by name."
According to police, Peeler shot and killed Turner near a home they shared on Warfield Street. Police say Peeler then walked to the gas station and shot Baniya, Ghale and Browne.
"I heard gunshots, and I saw a guy run out the store," Browne said. "I laid over, as if to play dead and hoping he wasn't going to go by my car. My car was already started, so I just threw my car in reverse and flew out of the parking lot."
"It's horrific," said Officer John Thomas with the Elizabethtown Police Department. "I mean, this was a man on a murderous rampage."
By the time it all ended, both Ghale and Turner were dead. The other two were in the hospital.
"As to why he went over to that gas station and continued this rampage — we still can't say for sure," Thomas said.
Police say the Baniya and Ghale moved to Elizabethtown from Detroit a few years ago.
"They moved here because they wanted a safer location," Thomas said. "That just adds to the tragedy of this whole situation. They were well-known in the community, very well-liked, very respected in the community, great guys."
Peeler went before a judge Monday morning and was appointed a public defender. His bond was set at $2 million.
But there were no answers to questions.
"I want to know exactly why," Richardson said. "Why them?"
Peeler is scheduled to be back on court in March 8.
Visitation and funeral services for Ghale will he held Tuesday, and Turner will be laid to rest later this week.
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