YouTuber Randy Stair’s former friend recalls warning signs before shooting

This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

A video uploaded by YouTuber Randy Stair in 2016 caused one of his online friends to cut off contact. Less than a year later, Stair went on a workplace shooting rampage at a Pennsylvania supermarket, ambushing and killing three co-workers before taking his own life.

“It was scary,” Sammy told Fox News Digital. “I don’t want to say it was almost like a betrayal, but I couldn’t believe that someone who was so friendly with me, so close to me, could do something so personal and post it publicly. After she posted the video about me, I blocked her for the last time.”

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The case is the subject of the Investigative Discovery (ID) true crime series “Fatal Impact: Social Media Murders.” The episode, titled “Enter the Ghost World,” explores Stair’s online activity, the growing obsession, and the warning signs that led to the attack.

In April 2016, Stair uploaded a video titled “A Promise Kept.” It contained what several mutual friends described as explicit threats against Sammy. In it, Stair detailed how he planned to kill her. Sammy said he couldn’t understand what fueled his anger.

The video featured an animated “Young Girl Missing” poster featuring a drawing of what looked like Sammy. At the end of the video, Stair, depicted as Ember McLain from “Danny Phantom”, is shown holding Sammy’s severed head.

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“You’re going to pay for what you did to me,” Stair can be heard saying in the video. “Mark my words… You are not safe. … You were once a sweet little girl in my eyes. But that was too short-lived. Just like your existence.”

Sammy said the video convinced him to permanently end all contact with Stair.

“He was posting very cryptic, indirect things on Twitter, but honestly you couldn’t be completely sure,” Sammy said. “And I think we all wanted to keep an eye on him. We would block him and unblock him so he could look at his account. But after that video was posted, I completely blocked him and cut off all contact.”

Capt. John Nederostek of the Pennsylvania State Police played a leading role in the official investigation into the 2017 Weis Markets shooting by Randy Stair. (ID)

Stair founded the YouTube channel PioneersProductions around 2008, when he was just 15 years old. Most of his early content consisted of sketch comedy and self-deprecating homemade shorts. Sammy discovered the channel around the age of 12 and became a fan. The two began communicating online when Stair was about 21 years old.

“I think what drew me to his page was that his videos almost felt like home videos,” Sammy said. “I grew up with the brothers, so they liked his videos and connected with them. That made Randy relatable to me, not just as a creator, but as a person.”

“Our conversations mostly started with us talking about his YouTube videos,” Sammy said. “But we both really loved music and had a lot of common interests. I think I almost saw him as an older brother. We had a similar sense of humor. He was very friendly in the beginning.”

Billy Spickerman, Randy Stair’s co-worker at Weis Markets and partner of victim Victoria Todd Brong. (ID)

As Stair’s audience grew, she began posting more personal videos, including behind-the-scenes footage and personal reflections. The episode describes Stair as an introvert who seems awkward when he’s not filming.

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“I think when it comes to YouTube or any regulated media, you have a lot of chances to get something right,” Sammy said. “If you don’t like the way something is going, you can do it again. I think that’s what he liked, too. He didn’t need to perfect everything. It might have taken a few tries to get it exactly the way he wanted it. I think it allowed him to express himself more easily now than he could in real life.”

As Stair’s filmmaking skills improved, his videos became increasingly darker. The silly sketch comedies and homemade parodies that once filled his channel gradually disappeared, replaced by melancholy short films and somber monologues.

Kristan Newell was a co-worker of shooter Randy Stair at the Weis Markets store in Eaton Township, Pennsylvania, where the mass shooting occurred on June 8, 2017. He was the only employee to survive the attack inside the store. (Christopher Dolan/Media News Group)

Stair’s channel has long featured recurring comedy skits centering on a frog and a whale. In the video titled “Extinction Series Finale”, cheerful characters meet a violent end. The staircase is seen stabbing them multiple times.

“It was very different from his previous content,” Sammy said. “But he also seemed different as a person. He became more distant, tweeted less, and was less active on social media. It wasn’t nearly the same person who made the previous videos.”

“There was a time when he told me about what could be called suicidal thoughts,” Sammy said. “But at the time, he said he never thought he would act on those thoughts. Even though he talked to us a lot on social media, when it came to such matters he would either divert the subject or try to reassure us that he would never do such a thing.”

Kristan Newell writes messages on balloons before releasing them in memory of the victims of the 2017 Eaton Township Weis Market shooting at Lazybrook Park in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania, on June 8, 2022. (Christopher Dolan/MediaNews Group/Standard Speaker)

As the months went by, Sammy said she noticed changes in Stair’s online behavior. Social media posts became increasingly erratic.

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“Sometimes he tweets and deletes it immediately or after a few minutes,” Sammy said. “It was usually about his purpose in the world or how he felt lost. But he would reassure everyone that it was just a difficult moment for him and that he was okay.”

Around 2013, Stair focused on the character McLain, the ghostly rock star in the Nickelodeon animated series. The character quickly became the focus of much of Stair’s online activity. He created “Ember’s Ghost Squad,” an animated series inspired by the character, and filled his diaries with entries about joining McLain and his own “Ghost Squad” characters after death.

The victims were identified as 63-year-old Terry Sterling, 25-year-old Victoria Brong and 47-year-old Brian Hayes. (Christopher Dolan/MediaNews Group/Standard Speaker)

Sammy and other friends said this obsession increasingly dominated Stair’s online identity.

“To this day, to be honest, I really don’t know why you were so drawn to this character,” Sammy said. “I think it could be something as simple as liking the character and her look and style. Or maybe she felt like it connected with her past in some way. But I don’t really know why she chose this particular character.”

Sammy said they were discussing his job at Weis Markets.

“Frankly, he would say that retail wasn’t the best place to work and that he didn’t want to stay there forever,” Sammy said. “As a young person, he encouraged me not to go into retail, but those were things I’d heard from older siblings and adults my whole life. He didn’t hate his job or was angry. I never thought he’d do something like that, especially out there.”

In this June 8, 2017 photo, James Daly (left), regional vice president of supermarket chain Weis Markets Inc., makes a statement to reporters as Pennsylvania State Police investigate the killings of three co-workers at a Weis supermarket in Tunkhannock who were shot by Randy Stair of Dallas, Pennsylvania, who also shot and killed himself. (Jake Danna Stevens)

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On June 8, 2017, Stair brought a two-handed shotgun to work during the night shift and blocked the store’s entrances and exits so no one could escape.

Pennsylvania State Police said Stair, 24, fired 59 shots before killing himself. killed 63-year-old Terry Sterling; Victoria Brong, 25; and Brian Hayes, 47. A fourth co-worker was uninjured and called police. Investigators said the victims were working the night shift when the attack occurred.

While there is no indication that anyone close to Stair could have predicted or prevented the attack, Sammy said he is still struggling with those feelings.

The regional supermarket chain planned a low-key, unceremonious reopening of Weis Markets in Tunkhannock in 2017, following extensive repairs and a thorough cleaning that removed physical traces of the mass shooting inside. (Robert Baker/The Times-Tribune, via AP)

“It was devastating,” Sammy said. “I felt guilty because I wish I had talked to him more about what I was seeing. The few times we contacted him, he would post and take things down or say things and then back off when I tried to dig deeper. Looking back now, there were signs that he was in decline.”

Wyoming County District Attorney Jeff Mitchell said Stair left an online trail that included praise for the 1999 Columbine High School shooters and expressions of deep frustration with the world around him, the Associated Press reported.

Today, Sammy said his goal in sharing his story is to encourage people to speak up when someone seems in crisis. He hopes others will notice changes in behavior and seek help if they are concerned about someone’s well-being.

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“I think sometimes people are afraid to speak up. We may not know where to get help. But we have to be mindful of the world around us.”