CHARLOTTE — Three people were critically injured after a driver shot at Amazon delivery vans, then crashed into multiple cars, according to investigators in eastern North Carolina.
The suspect, Lonneil Cordarius Mason of Charlotte, is among the three people hospitalized, the Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office said in a Sunday, March 23, news release.
Identities of the two females injured when the 34-year-old Mason ran head-on into their vehicle have not been released, officials said.
The series of incidents began around 10:15 a.m. on March 23 when Mason “shot into three Amazon vans” northeast of Kinston, officials said. Two shootings were on Felix Harvey Parkway and the third was on N.C. 11.
“The Harvey Parkway shootings involved vans driven by females; one was a shot through the passenger door by a .45 caliber pistol, while the second (shot) traveled through the back of the van and through several packages by an AR-15 pistol,” officials say.
“The third Amazon van shooting occurred on the driver’s side of a van driven by a man. None of the Amazon drivers were injured in the shootings.”’
Mason’s BMW then collided with three vehicles, including a truck hauling mowers, officials said.
“No one was injured in the first and third collisions but there were two female victims in the head-on collision. Both are at ECU Health in Greenville. … The female victims are in critical condition,” the sheriff’s office said. “Mason was transported by an EastCare helicopter to Greenville.”
He is listed in critical but stable condition, officials said.
Two .45 caliber pistols and an AR-15 were seized at the crash scene, along with cocaine and Fentanyl found in Mason’s “vehicle and on his person,” the sheriff’s office said.
Lenoir County Sheriff Jackie Rogers said detectives are seeking witnesses for help determining a motive.
“We don’t know why he targeted Amazon vehicles or why he was driving in the wrong lane on N.C. 11,” Rogers said in the release.
“We are asking for anyone who might’ve been on Harvey Parkway or N.C. 11 who saw something and could help our investigation to please call Lenoir County Communications at 252-559-6118.”
Warrants “are being obtained,” officials said, to charge Mason with:
- Three counts of attempted first-degree murder
- Three counts of shooting into occupied property
- Possession of a firearm by a felon
- Possession with intent to sell or deliver Schedule I controlled substance
Kinston is about an 80-mile drive southeast of Raleigh.
By MARK PRICE/Charlotte Observer
Mark Price is a National Reporter for McClatchy News. He joined the network of newspapers in 1991 at The Charlotte Observer, covering beats including schools, crime, immigration, LGBTQ issues, homelessness and nonprofits. He graduated from the University of Memphis with majors in journalism and art history, and a minor in geology.
