GAFFNEY, S.C. -- Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler confirmed Saturday that the Gaffney teen who was shot in the head in her father's store in Gaffney has died from her injuries.

Abby Tyler, 15, is now the fifth victim of the suspected serial killer in Gaffney to die within a week.

The girl and her father, 48-year-old Stephen Tyler, were both shot Thursday afternoon inside Tyler Home Center, located at 612 East Frederick St., while the two were closing the store. The elder Tyler died at the scene.

Fowler said that Abby Tyler passed away at 11:25 a.m. at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center. Her death has been classified as a homicide.

The victims are survived by Stephen Tyler's wife and his oldest daughter -- who, along with an employee of the store, found the two unresponsive at about 7:15 p.m.

The Tyler family has requested privacy during this difficult time.

In a release, Fowler requested prayers for the families involved -- as well as for the more than 100 law enforcement officials working to solve the five slayings.

Cherokee County Sheriff Bill Blanton said the search is on for a suspected male serial killer, and a composite sketch has been released. The killer is described as a man his 40s with salt and pepper hair, about 6-foot-2, and roughly 200 pounds. Police said they believe he is driving a silver 1991-1994 Ford Explorer.

The slaying of the two Tylers are the most recent in the violent spree. The killings began a week ago Saturday when the wife of 63-year-old peach farmer Kline Cash found him dead in their home. On Wednesday, relatives found 83-year-old Hazel Linder and her 50-year-old daughter, Gena Linder Parker, bound and shot to death in a separate shooting at Linder's home.The shootings all occurred within about 10 miles of each other in Cherokee County.

Blanton said all the victims were shot, but he would not say how the deaths were linked.

The spree has alarmed residents, who have canceled Independence Day plans and armed themselves. The sheriff warned door-to-door salesmen to stop knocking and advised anyone who breaks down on the county's rural roads to wait instead of walking to a house for help because he said he worries "people are going to start shooting at shadows."

Dozens of local, state and federal investigators were assigned to the case when the killings were linked. A day later, however, the killer struck again, less than a half-mile from the sheriff's office serving as the headquarters for the investigation, killing 48-year-old Stephen Tyler and his daughter.

"We're knee-deep in the investigation," Blanton said Saturday. "There's fear and concern here, and there should be concern."

Fear has created a buzz of gossip in the city of Gaffney as well, leading a report of a body found to escalate into speculation of yet another homicide. Fowler later confirmed that the man, whose body was found by a resident at the corner of North Petty and East Robinson streets, died of natural causes.

The Herald-Journal of Spartanburg reported that the Tylers' minister at Cherokee Avenue Baptist Church, Clyde Thomas, changed his sermon Sunday to help congregants keep their faith in the face of tragedy. The newspaper said Thomas had a pistol with him in his office Saturday.