Two women were shot and killed Friday afternoon at a North Carolina Family Dollar after a man fired shots at their vehicles, said officials.
Kayla Kyle, 32, and Kimberly Hunt, 41, were identified by Lumberton police as the victims, according to WRAL-TV.
Witnesses told officials that the suspect, who was wearing a hoodie, fired shots at several vehicles as they backed out of parking spaces.
Elaine McNair, said Kyle had two children, who are aged 9 and 1. She said that Kyle’s 9-year-old, who was in the car, called the police after the shooting.
“We know someone has the information to assist the Lumberton Police Department with this investigation, and I am thankful the representative of the anonymous group came forth and is able to do this,” Robeson County Sheriff Burnis Wilkins said to the news outlet. “The cowardly actions of this person to shoot and kill innocent women even with children in the car is unconscionable.”
Officials told the station that the suspect tried to steal the car. When she tried to drive away, he opened fire.
Hunt’s family members told WRAL that the suspect stole her vehicle after shooting her. The car was found abandoned near the Family Dollar.
They said she was a mother of four with several grandchildren.
Wilkins noted on Facebook Live that officials believe that someone “knows this suspect.”
“To the driver and owner of the car that dropped him off; come forward now and become a potential witness rather than an accessory to the murders,” he said.
The sheriff added: “To whoever may be housing the suspect in an effort to conceal his identity, come forward now rather than becoming an accessory after the fact. You are just as guilty as standing there with him when he murdered these ladies if you don’t. This man has proven himself as an armed and dangerous coward, and he should be treated as such. Let’s find him before he does this again. At this point, he has nothing to lose. Come forward now.”
Anyone with information about the shooting can contact the Lumberton Police Department at (910) 671-3845.
