1 man shot in face, another car hit in York County I-77 road rage, deputies say
A man driving on Interstate 77 In York County was shot in the face in a road rage shooting, deputies said.
The suspect was caught in Rock Hill Saturday following a manhunt in the afternoon near Exit 85 of I-77, said Trent Faris, spokesman for the York County Sheriff’s Office.
Isiah Ezechukwu Sr., 33, of Rock Hill, is charged with two counts of attempted murder, kidnapping, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and possession of a stolen gun, according to police and court records.
It remains unclear what caused the road rage shooting, Faris said.
“It is very clear that this could have been deadly,” Faris said.
The man shot in the cheek was transported to a hospital with injuries that are not expected to be life-threatening, Faris said.
Deputies recovered a handgun that had been reported stolen in Charlotte, Faris said.
Until the suspect was caught, deputies posted a safety message on social media alerting the public to the large police and fire department presence along I-77 and S.C. 160 near Baxter Village.
Police from the sheriff’s office, S.C. Highway Patrol, and other agencies were on scene Saturday for several hours.
Deputies and troopers were called to the northbound lanes of I-77 around 12:30 p.m. Saturday after reports of shots being fired from a gold BMW, according to an incident report obtained by The Herald. Deputies found one victim in a vehicle who had been shot in the face, the report stated.
Three of that vehicle’s windows had been hit, deputies said.
In a second vehicle near the scene, police found a man whose windshield had been hit in the gunfire, the report stated. That man was not injured.
The BMW that deputies say Ezechukwu had been driving was found empty on the I-77 Exit 85 ramp.
Ezechukwu, later determined to be a suspect in the case, was arrested in Rock Hill, according to the report.
Ezechukwu is in the York County jail without bail after bond was denied Sunday in a court hearing.
The road rage on I-77 near Exit 85 is the second in a month in York County in the same area, according to police records. A Charlotte woman was charged in November after shooting at a delivery van, Fort Mill Police Department officials said. A Columbia man was convicted earlier this month of attempted murder from an I-77 road rage shooting in Chester County.
This story was originally published December 21, 2020 at 1:20 PM.
