‘It was so sad’: Customers, family hold vigil for duo killed at Horry County bingo hall
With four simple words, friends of the two men killed at an Horry County bingo hall perfectly summed up the feelings of the crowd gathered outside the hall Monday evening.
“To Steve and Sparky,” as friends and family raised lit candles toward the sky.
Steve Johnson Sr. and Steve “Sparky” Johnson Jr. were shot and killed during an attempted armed robbery at Waccamaw Bingo on Friday night. Police continue to search for the suspect.
Friends gathered at the parlor in Belle Terre Plaza, off U.S. Highway 501, for a candlelight vigil on Monday. There were plenty of tears, but also a few laughs as people remembered the two.
The two men owned Waccamaw Bingo, and that led to days away from the family’s Sumter home. Christi Brunson, Steve Sr.’s daughter and Sparky’s sister, joked that the two loved the players more than their families, given the amount of time they spent at the hall.
“I had the best brother and the best dad that ever walked the face of this earth,” she said.
Steve Sr. and Sparky were close as Brunson described them as duplicates. After they were shot, Steve Sr. saw Sparky take his last breath and didn’t want to be without him, she said. Today, the two walk together in heaven, Brunson said.
“He’s with his best friend in the whole wide world,” Brunson said, leaving the pronoun applicable to either man.
Several dozen friends and customers, as well as a handful of Horry County police officers, joined the family at the Myrtle Beach-area parlor for the vigil. Flowers lined the storefront and attendees signed posters to express their condolences.
Sonia Edwards was a longtime employee at the hall. A year ago Sparky asked her if she wanted to return to work at Waccamaw Bingo after she left for several years. Of course, she accepted.
“Sparky was always laughing, always joking,” she said.
Steve Sr. sat behind the counter and provided people their bingo cards, wishing them the best of luck, Edwards said.
On the night of the shooting, Edwards said she was at home and received a phone call to let her know what happened to the two men.
“I could not believe it,” Edwards said. “It was so sad.”
This story was originally published July 30, 2019 at 6:00 AM.
