LANCASTER, S.C. — The sound of gunfire shattered a Saturday night at Palmetto Place Apartments on Pardue Street, leaving 18-year-old Evangeline Mancera dead and a stunned community searching for answers.
Lancaster Police say officers were called just before midnight November 29 after neighbors reported hearing multiple shots and a woman screaming.
SUPPORT THE FAMILY - GOD BLESS YOU
When they arrived, they found Evangeline lying in the breezeway between buildings, shot at least once. Despite frantic attempts at CPR, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Lancaster County Coroner Karla Deese officially identified the victim Sunday afternoon and confirmed an autopsy is scheduled for early this week.
Friends describe Evangeline as a soft-spoken 2025 Lancaster High graduate who loved makeup artistry, worked part-time at a local salon, and was saving for cosmetology school. She had just posted a Thanksgiving selfie with the caption “grateful for another trip around the sun.”
“She was the sweetest soul you’d ever meet,” her best friend told reporters outside the taped-off complex Sunday. “Always doing everybody’s prom makeup for free, always smiling. Who would do this to her?”
Investigators recovered several shell casings and are canvassing for surveillance video. No motive or suspect description has been released, and police Chief Don Roper stressed the shooting appears targeted.
“Violence like this has no place in Lancaster,” Chief Roper said. “We will work around the clock until the person responsible is in custody.”
A makeshift memorial of candles, stuffed animals, and purple balloons (Evangeline’s favorite color) now lines the spot where she fell. Mourners gathered into the night, hugging and crying under the complex’s flickering streetlights.
Anyone with information is urged to call Lancaster Police at 803-283-3313 or leave an anonymous tip at 803-289-6040.
Rest easy, Evangeline. Lancaster won’t stop until justice is served. 🕊️💜 #JusticeForEvangeline