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EDGEMOOR, SC — An argument over a vaping device ended with two people dead in the early morning hours of August 20, 2026, after a second person struck by gunfire shot back, according to the Chester County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators say the shooting happened in the area of Mays Drive in the Edgemoor community. In an update posted by the sheriff’s office, investigators said they have determined the shooting occurred because of an altercation over a vaping device.

According to the sheriff’s office, Brandon Tavon Cassidy shot the first victim multiple times with a handgun. That victim died of their injuries.

A second victim returned fire. The exchange left both that person and Cassidy with gunshot wounds. Cassidy died of his injuries.

The sheriff’s office says the second victim returned fire in self-defense.

I cannot make sense of a handgun coming out over a vaping device. What I can say is that when someone decided a vape was worth shooting a person over, the second victim was not defenseless.

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A great deal has not been released. Neither victim has been identified by the sheriff’s office. The condition of the second victim has not been announced beyond the fact that the person was struck. Investigators have not said how the people involved knew one another, who started the altercation, or what time the call came in. No charging decision has been announced, and in South Carolina that call belongs to the solicitor’s office, not to investigators.

The sheriff’s office says this remains an active investigation.