Durham County deputies ID suspect in road-rage shooting incident
DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Durham County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday night that it has identified a suspect in the Sunday night road rage incident at a Durham convenience store.
The sheriff's office said 31-year-old Ira Brandon Thorpe has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to kill and possession of a firearm by a felon for the shooting at Han-Dee Hugo's on Pleasant Drive at Highway 70.
Thorpe is not in custody
No one was injured as the bullets flew,
The investigation has also revealed that the suspect vehicle is a 2013 Audi A4 with NC License Plate KBR-8300.
A verbal altercation started and as seen on surveillance footage, the driver of the Audi gets what appears to be a rifle from the car and shoots several times at a Ford Mustang, which then drives away.
Video footage of the incident was captured not only from the gas station's camera but from a neighboring business, showing different angles of what happened.
It appeared that the two drivers exchanged words and the Mustang driver walks back to his car and proceeds to leave.
That's when the driver of the Audi can be seen quickly getting out of his car, retrieving a weapon and firing eight shots before getting back in his car and driving away.
"Oh my God. Is that an Uzi?" said one customer when shown the surveillance video.
Another customer added: "Just ruthless. Shooting up in the middle of a gas station. There could be kids around. I could have just rolled up here, bought a pack of cigarettes and ... imagine taking a bullet pumping gas. Or a bullet hits one of these (gas pumps) and it blows up."
The Audi reportedly received damage to the driver's side bumper during a collision between the two vehicles.
The sheriff's office said road rage is not a crime but rather a behavior.
If you are witness to road rage or become a victim, the sheriff's office says:
- Do not engage. Stay calm.
- Take note of the make and model of the other vehicle... And call 911.
- Don't try to take pictures or videos with your phone, especially if you're driving.
- Don't chase after an aggressive driver.
Investigators ask that anyone with information about Thorpe's whereabouts call DCSO at either 911, (919) 560-0900 or Crimestoppers at (919) 683-1200.
