Suspect in I-40 gunshots dragged deputy with car during arrest, NC sheriff says
A man suspected of firing shots at another driver on Interstate 40 added to his list of felony charges when he dragged the arresting deputy with a vehicle, according to investigators in western North Carolina.
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The potentially deadly arrest happened around 8 p.m. Tuesday in Buncombe County, officials said.
Alexander Sherman McKenzie of Hendersonville was sought for questioning in connection with “a shooting incident that happened just before 6 a.m. on June 10,” the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office said in a June 17 news release.
“A man driving on I-40 reported another driver fired several shots into his vehicle near Exit 59 (Patton Cove Road),” the sheriff’s office said.
The driver was not hit, but his 2024 Chevy Silverado pickup was damaged, officials said.
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A warrant was issued for 50-year-old McKenzie’s arrest on charges of attempted first degree murder, discharging a firearm to incite fear and discharging a weapon into occupied property, records show.
McKenzie was located Tuesday driving a 2025 Nissan Sentra on Tunnel Road, and investigators say he resisted commands and assaulted a lieutenant “by attempting to drive away in the vehicle while dragging the officer.”
The lieutenant was dragged “a short distance,” and was not injured, officials said.
After being stopped, McKenzie was found in possession of a 9 mm handgun, despite being a convicted felon who served time in prison for a 1997 bank robbery, officials said.
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McKenzie’s additional charges include:
Buncombe County is about a 125-mile drive northwest from uptown Charlotte.
