Have you seen this car? Sheriff seeks Chevy Malibu wanted in NC road rage shooting
Law enforcement has identified the car wanted in connection with a road rage shooting in Eastern North Carolina last week that killed a 47-year-old mom of six from Pennsylvania.
The Robeson County Sheriff’s Office shared surveillance footage on Monday of a silver four-door Chevrolet Malibu made between 2008 and 2013 with North Carolina license plates. The driver is accused of shooting and killing Julie Eberly on I-95 near Lumberton, just shy of the South Carolina border, on Thursday.
Investigators are asking businesses and residents of Elm Street and Roberts Avenue in Lumberton to check their security tapes for similar images of the car between 11:40 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on March 25.
“Someone recognizes this vehicle,” Sheriff Burnis Wilkins said Monday. “I am asking that anyone with information as to who or where this vehicle is, to contact our office immediately. We will continue to track this suspect until we are standing in his yard.”
Eberly — a mother of six from Manheim, Pennsylvania — was shot while driving to Hilton Head, South Carolina, with her husband, Ryan, to celebrate their wedding anniversary, the sheriff said.
The incident unfolded near the 23 mile marker on I-95 around 11:40 a.m. Thursday.
While trying to change lanes, the couple’s car reportedly got too close to another driver, who then pulled up beside them, rolled down his window and fired into the passenger door, according to the sheriff’s office.
Investigators said the Chevy Malibu was last seen driving south on the interstate toward Exit 22, crossing over the bridge and heading into Lumberton. The Eberlys pulled over on I-95 to wait for help.
Ryan Eberly was not injured, but Julie Eberly died later that afternoon at UNC Southeastern Hospital, McClatchy News reported.
The sheriff’s office is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest with money put forward by an anonymous donor in Robeson County.
More than $53,000 has also been raised for the family through an online fundraiser.
“I need your help. Let’s show others that we won’t tolerate this,” Sheriff Burnis Wilkins said in a Facebook post Friday. “This murderous coward must be caught. Please come forward with information that I know someone has. Or better yet, be a man and turn yourself in as I am sure you will read this.”
