photo by: Contributed

Former Lawrence residents Christina McVay and her son Colin, 6, were killed earlier this month in South Carolina.

A Lawrence woman and her 6-year-old son who had recently moved to South Carolina for a fresh start were shot and killed earlier this month in South Carolina, the Journal-World has learned.

According to media reports out of Lancaster County in South Carolina, Christina McVay, 44, and her son Colin were shot on March 9 by a 24-year-old homeless man, Jacob Sobieraj, who had been taken in by McVay’s father as an act of kindness. Sobieraj, who was killed by police in a standoff after the shootings, had been living in the family garage after he met McVay’s dad at church. Sobieraj reportedly contacted 911 himself to tell them he had shot McVay and Colin. When police arrived, gunfire was exchanged and Sobieraj was killed. Colin died the next day at a hospital, and his mother died four days later.

photo by: Contributed

Christina McVay and her son Colin

It’s not clear what led to the shootings, which left the small community of Lancaster, in north-central South Carolina, in shock.

McVay, according to friends, had moved to South Carolina last summer to be closer to her father.

Larissa Gasaway, a longtime friend of McVay’s, has organized a GoFundMe fundraiser on behalf of McVay’s two surviving daughters, of Lawrence, to cover any medical, funeral and burial expenses, “and to help her young daughters move forward as best they can after such a traumatic tragedy.”

Gasaway told the Journal-World that she and McVay grew up together in Lawrence, playing volleyball in junior high and graduating together from Free State High School in 1999. The two remained the best of friends into adulthood, texting and talking frequently. McVay was a bridesmaid at Gasaway’s wedding.

“I was absolutely shocked and speechless,” Gasaway said upon learning of her friend’s violent death. “She was just a beautiful soul, always smiling. … She had big dimples, so her smile was contagious.”

McVay was a “wonderful mother,” she added. “Everything she did was for her kids.”

Colin, she said, was “a very sweet, well-mannered, loving little boy who loved to give hugs, and he loved his family.”

Services are scheduled for Friday at First United Methodist Church, 867 U.S. Highway 40. A viewing at 10 a.m. will be followed by the funeral at 11 a.m. In addition to her father of South Carolina, McVay is survived by her two daughters and her mother, of Lawrence.

photo by: Contributed

Christina McVay and her son Colin

photo by: Contributed

Christina McVay, second from left, with a group of her friends.