Man accused of shooting at vehicles with sawed-off shotgun on North Carolina highway

A 33-year-old South Carolina man is accused of driving along Interstate 95 in North Carolina and “randomly shooting at vehicles” earlier this month.

The shots struck three vehicles. Three were injured — one was life-flighted to a local hospital.

According to a press release from the United States Department of Justice:

Franklin Joseph Dangerfield, 33, of Ladson, South Carolina, was arrested by special agents of the ATF and is charged by complaint with one count of possessing an unregistered short-barrel shotgun and faces a maximum penalty of 120 months’ in prison if convicted. Dangerfield will make his initial appearance in federal court today before U.S. Magistrate Judge James E. Gates in Raleigh.

on September 5, 2020, at approximately 6:45 p.m., deputies with the Nash County Sheriff’s Office responded to southern Nash County after receiving calls of a male shooting at vehicles along I-95 from a black pickup truck. Deputies located the truck traveling at high speeds north on I-95, and pursued the driver through four counties, before crossing the North Carolina-Virginia state line.

Deputies with the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office and the Northampton County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the pursuit.

The driver of the pickup truck exceeded speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour before crashing at Mile Marker 11 in Emporia, Virginia

at approximately 7:30p.m. Virginia State Police observed Dangerfield, the sole occupant of the vehicle, in the driver’s seat and a loaded Savage Arms Springfield 67H 12-gauge shotgun in plain view on the front passenger seat. The shotgun had a sawed-off barrel and was not registered with the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, in violation of federal law.

Officers also recovered shotgun shells and a hacksaw from the truck. 

The injuries in Nash County along I-95 include one person shot in the shoulder and another punctured in the face by shattered glass. The gunshot victim was air-lifted to Greenville.  A Nash County Sheriff’s Office deputy’s marked vehicle sustained damage in the chase and the deputy received treatment for non-life threatening injuries.  

The chase began around the 145 mm in North Carolina and ended at the 11 mm in Virginia. The chase went through 4 counties in North Carolina and into the state of Virginia.

The chase came to an end when Dangerfield lost control of his vehicle, went into the median and overturned.

Nash County authorities say Dangerfield was under an illegal substance at the time of the incident.

Authorities say Dangerfield allegedly set his home on fire in South Carolina before going on a rampage.