GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — A mother is asking witnesses to come forward after her son was shot and killed while driving on the interstate.
Gaston EMS (GEMS) said a person had to be taken to a hospital from I-85 after an apparent shooting Tuesday evening. Police confirmed the victim, 19-year-old Uriah Diondreus McCree, died at the hospital due to his injuries.
Police responded to I-85 near Exit 13 shortly before 5:45 p.m. Tuesday after reports of a shooting. When officers arrived, they found McCree, who had been shot multiple times.
McCree's mother, Christina Michaels, said she felt people online have unfairly judged her son based on some of his social media pictures.
"He was loved," Michaels said. "He had a wonderful family. He had a brother and sister who loved him very much. ... He had a son that he don’t even get to go to his first birthday next month. He misses that.”
She feared her son knew the person who shot him.
"All I can keep thinking about is when he was on that highway, he was probably so scared," Michaels said. "I bet he was thinking in his head, ‘Mama, they’re fixing to kill me.'”
The Bessemer City Police Department and Gaston County police said they are looking for a 2012 or later white Dodger Charger with dark tinted windows, a spoiler and possibly factory chrome wheels that was involved in the shooting. Detectives said the vehicle was last seen driving southbound on I-85 where it took Exit 10 toward Kings Mountain and Shelby on Highway 74.
Gaston County Scanner Radio, which tracks emergency radio traffic and scenes in the area, shared a video of the scene on Twitter. The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) said all southbound lanes near Exit 13, close to the state line with South Carolina, were shut down after the shooting. By 10 p.m. Tuesday, the lanes had all reopened.
Anyone with information about the investigation is asked to contact the Bessemer City Police Department at 704-629-2235. A reward of up to $1,000 is being offered for information that leads to an arrest. Michaels asked anyone with information on her son's death to come forward.
“Please don’t be scared! Please come forward," Michaels said. "I want justice for who done this!”