A Charlotte man is in critical condition after deputies said he shot at three Amazon delivery vans and then crashed head-on Sunday in Lenoir County.
According to the Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office, Lonneil Cordarius Mason, 34, was airlifted to ECU Health in Greenville after his 2011 white BMW crashed head-on with an SUV around 10:30 a.m.
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Deputies said Mason hit three total vehicles in the crash as he was driving north in the southbound lane of N.C. Highway 11.
The first vehicle he hit lost a mirror, while two women in a second car were hit head-on by Mason. Mason then hit a truck hauling mowers on a trailer.
Both women are in the hospital with serious injuries.
According to deputies, Mason shot into three Amazon vans, two on the Felix Harvey Parkway and one on N.C. 11, north of the parkway, just 15 minutes before the crashes.
Deputies said Mason shot at two female drivers inside the vans from his BMW on the Felix Harvey Parkway. One van was shot through the passenger door with a .45 caliber pistol, and the second van was shot through the back of the van and several packages with an AR-style pistol.
The third Amazon van was shot through the driver’s side of the van.
That driver called 911, stunned, after arriving in Winterville.
"I was driving, and I heard like a loud pop, and I pulled over to see if it was a tire," the driver said.
"There is a hole in the door. Oh my God! That went all the way through. I just realized that went all the way through my van."
None of the drivers was injured in the shooting.
“These incidents are indeed tragic; we don’t know why he targeted Amazon vehicles or why he was driving in the wrong lane on N.C. 11,” Lenoir County Sheriff Jackie Rogers said.
Deputies recovered a .45 caliber pistol and an AR-style pistol from Mason’s car as he was taken to the hospital. Deputies also discovered cocaine and fentanyl on Mason and inside his car.
Mason was in prison between July 2009 and December 2020 after he was convicted of second-degree murder and breaking-and-entering for a crime committed on June 28, 2007. Mason was also previously charged with discharging a weapon into occupied property and armed terror of the people in April 2007, but those charges were later dropped.
Deputies said they are obtaining warrants against Mason, including three counts of attempted first-degree murder, three counts of shooting into occupied property, possession of a firearm by a felon and one count of possession with intent to sell and deliver schedule 1 controlled substance.
Rogers asked anyone with information to contact Lenoir County Communications at 252-559-6118.