‘It's a big loss': Coastal Carolina, Coker communities mourn FSU shooting victim
CONWAY, S.C. (WBTW) – The Coastal Carolina University and Coker University communities are mourning the loss of Tiru Chabba, one of the two people killed in the Florida State University shooting last Thursday.
Chabba was a CCU and Citadel alum. He worked with both CCU and Coker dining services during his career.
Shawn Phillips, Chabba's former co-worker at Coker, says he had a beautiful smile that lit up every room.
'If you were having a bad day, he would always come up to you and give you that smile and a little joke, or something that makes you feel better, and your day would go by fast,' Phillips said.
She says she worked with Chabba for about four years. They were both supervisors for Aramark Collegiate Hospitality, the company that once ran Coker's dining services.
Phillips says she saw articles about the Florida State University shooting and recognized Chabba's smile from the photos.
'I actually pulled up the article, and I went like, 'This is Tiru. Oh my goodness,'' she said. 'The tears just started flowing from my eyes.'
Most recently, Chabba was the Regional Vice President at Aramark, which currently runs Coastal Carolina University's dining services.
He was on the FSU campus as part of his job when he was killed.
Sandy Baldridge-Adrian, associate vice president for Auxiliary Enterprises and Chabba's co-worker at CCU, says she met Chabba when both were students at the university. They ended up working together for about 20 years.
'He always had a, 'We'll figure out a way to do it,' instead of a 'No, that's not something we could do,' attitude,' Baldridge-Adrian said. 'He was always thinking about our students, the Aramark staff, and the university staff, and how we can make this place better.'
Baldridge-Adrian says her two decades working with Chabba felt like both a lifetime and not long enough.
'I feel upset, frustrated, mad, heartbroken,' she said. 'It's a big loss, and it's going to take a while.'
Baldridge-Adrian was emotional when she talked about how Chabba was not only a great friend, but also a great husband and father to his wife and two kids.
'He'll be missed,' she said. 'We're here for his family, both his work family and his actual family. I can't imagine what they're going through right now.'
You can donate to Chabba's family's GoFundMe here.
* * *
Skylar Musick is a multimedia journalist at News13. Skylar is originally from Long Island, New York. She joined the News13 team in June 2024 after graduating from Villanova University in May 2024. Follow Skylar on X, formerly Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, and read more of her work here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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