LUMBERTON, N.C. — Authorities in North Carolina say a Pennsylvania woman was shot and killed in a road rage incident on Interstate 95.
The Robeson County Sheriff's Office says it’s still searching for the person or people responsible for the death of Julie Eberly on Thursday.
The car Eberly was in was heading south, north of Lumberton, when the shooting happened. Authorities say the victim's vehicle unknowingly came close to the shooter’s vehicle while merging into another lane.
“The suspect rolled down his window and fired multiple shots into the passenger door, one of which struck Julie Eberly,” wrote the sheriff’s office in a Facebook post. “Witnesses then say the suspect sped off and exited at Exit 22, crossing over the bridge coming into Lumberton. The victim’s vehicle pulled over on I-95 awaiting assistance.”
The victim was with her husband, Ryan Eberly, who was not injured. The couple from Manheim, Pennsylvania, was driving to the beach. Authorities said they had left their six children at home with grandparents.
“Thankfully they had left their six children at home with grandparents but now these kids have to live with the thought of their mother being murdered on in such a cowardly and senseless way,” wrote Sheriff Burnis Wilkins in a statement. “My heart goes out to this family and I ask that everyone reading this stop and pray for this entire family.”
The sheriff’s office says the shooter was driving a silver or gray 2010 model Chevy Malibu or Impala with tinted windows and possibly with chrome around the window frame. The suspect is described as an African American with dreadlocks.
The sheriff’s office is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to probable cause for the issuance of warrants and the arrest of the suspect(s) responsible for the murder of Elberly.
If you have any information pertaining to this incident, you’re asked to call the sheriff’s office at 910-671-3170 or email sheriff@robesoncoso.org.