2017 Eaton Township Weis Markets shooting: On June 8, 2017, a shooting occurred at the Weis Markets supermarket in Eaton Township, Pennsylvania, United States. Motive: Belief that he would meet characters from his animated web series Ember's Ghost Squad in the afterlife.
>Stair had a significant online presence, primarily on [YouTube](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube) and [Twitter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X_(social_network)). He started creating and uploading videos on YouTube in 2008 on the YouTube channel PioneersProductions. The channel initially featured short sketches. He was highlighted in an episode of "Equals Three" by YouTuber [Ray William Johnson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_William_Johnson). His videos were described as humorous and light-hearted, but "sometimes a bit mundane and boring." He was often thankful for his YouTube following, noting in one of his videos that the platform had kept him away from depression. However, by 2014, citing depression, Stair shifted direction to launch the animated series *Ember's Ghost Squad*, inspired by the character [Ember McLain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ember_McLain) from the [Nickelodeon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickelodeon) animated series [*Danny Phantom*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Phantom), who Stair incorporated into a fictional universe he increasingly identified with. Stair worked with a group of animators and voice actors in developing the series. The series involved a fantasy world featuring mostly female characters. Nine Twitter accounts based on the series' characters were created, and the accounts conversed with each other. Besides YouTube and Twitter, he also had accounts on [Facebook](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook), [Bandcamp](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandcamp), [Instagram](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instagram), [DeviantArt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeviantArt), and had a [fan wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_wiki) for the series. He was an active user to online forums dedicated to the [Columbine High School massacre](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbine_High_School_massacre).
>Stair began grappling with [suicidal ideation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicidal_ideation) after learning about McLain's death from [arson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arson), and **claimed in one of his videos that McLain wanted him to murder because her "Ghost Squad \[needed\] more souls."** After the deaths of his acquaintances between 2012–2013, he was sent into a state of depression, and had increased thoughts about death. As he grew increasingly isolated, he believed that he could no longer age beyond his twenties, and began to deteriorate due to isolation. **Stair felt disconnected from reality, holding beliefs that he didn't belong in the world and that his series' characters were real. He had consistently expressed his desire to be with his created characters, specifically one named Mackenzie West, whom he believed to be his soulmate.** As Stair became increasingly immersed in the fictional universe he created, he developed misanthropic views and frequently expressed his hatred for humanity and the world, often describing how he wanted to kill as many people as possible. Stair had also discussed struggling with [gender dysphoria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_dysphoria), as he described himself as "a female soul trapped in a man's body" and wanting to undergo [gender-affirming surgery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender-affirming_surgery). He admitted in a video to his parents that he had been [cross-dressing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-dressing) on Wednesdays whenever his parents and brother were out bowling. In *Ember's Ghost Squad*, he voiced Andrew Blaze, a "[self-insert](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-insertion)" character who identified as female despite her masculine first name; he claimed that the character was his true self.