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| A surveillance photograph of a person of interest in Thursday's shooting of a Wal-Mart employee. |
Staff Writer CLINTON — Clinton police have released a surveillance photograph of a person of interest in the shooting of a Wal-Mart employee early Thursday, and have called on the public for any information they may have about the suspect's whereabouts.
In a separate case the same day, and in the very same parking lot, a Clinton woman sustained minor injuries as a result of a hit-and-run wreck. While officers continue to investigate the shooting, the hit-and-run case has been closed, with officers saying that all leads have been exhausted.
Wal-Mart employee Roger Boyer, 49, who was airlifted to Chapel Hill after being shot shortly after 4:30 a.m. Thursday, was in critical condition at UNC Hospitals Friday, family members said.
A spokesman for the hospital did not return inquiries regarding Boyer's current condition report Friday. Boyer's ex-wife Brenda Boyer, reached Friday afternoon by phone, said her initial belief was that her former husband was in stable condition following the shooting, but that has proved not to be the case.
Investigators said Boyer was sitting in his van, parked in the parking lot of Wal-Mart, when he was shot. The single shot was fired through the driver's side window of the van and struck Boyer in the chest.
Boyer reportedly called police from his cell phone and said he had been shot. He was reportedly sitting in his vehicle during an early-morning break from his shift when the shooting occurred.
Boyer underwent emergency surgery Thursday and was scheduled to undergo additional surgery today, police said.
Surveillance photos released Friday show a male subject wearing a black hat, black shorts and black sneakers walking inside the Wal-Mart. The male is also wearing what appears to be a shirt, orange or red in color, with black and white horizontal stripes on it.
Clinton police Detective Jeff Gray said that the male is a "person of interest" at this time, and is not necessarily a suspect in the shooting. He said that anyone with information about the man is encouraged to contact the Clinton Police Department at 910-592-3105.
About 11 hours after the shooting, an unrelated hit-and-run occurred in the same parking lot, in which Kathleen Peterson, 26, of Millbrook Ave., Clinton, was injured.
According to reports, police officers responded to a possible vehicle accident at the Wal-Mart portion of the parking lot at Sampson Crossing.
Peterson told officers she was walking behind a vehicle, later identified as a 2005 Toyota Corolla, when she was struck by the right rear corner of the bumper as the vehicle backed up.
Following the collision, Peterson was transported by rescue personnel to Sampson Regional Medical Center to be examined. Medical workers said the woman was struck in the hip as the vehicle was moving and suffered minor injuries in the impact.
Officers responding to the scene of the collision were given a vehicle description and, a short time later, spoke to a 17-year-old Newton Grove resident about the hit-and-run, according to reports.
The teenager told police she did not hit anyone with the vehicle, authorities reported. Officers stated in reports that there was a clean spot on the right rear bumper of the Corolla, where it appeared that a section had been wiped clean. There was dust on the rest of the back bumper, police said.
However, the case was closed after leads were exhausted, police said. No arrests have been made.
Wal-Mart employee injured in shooting
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runSlideShow(); By Chris Berendt
CLINTON — A Wal-Mart employee was shot in the chest as he sat in his vehicle during an early-morning break from his shift at the store Thursday. Clinton police are currently investigating the shooting and say they have "good information" in their search for a suspect in the shooting, which has left the man's family shaken.
Roger Boyer, 49, was airlifted to Chapel Hill after being shot with a shotgun shortly after 4:30 a.m. Thursday. He was sitting in the parking lot of Wal-Mart when the shot was fired into the driver's side of his van. Boyer reportedly called police from his cell phone and said he had been shot.
"He was sitting in his vehicle while on break when a subject walked up and shot him through the window," Clinton police chief Mike Brim said. "We do not have a motive at this time, and we don't want to speculate what happened between the two, if anything."
Brim said detectives were investigating the shooting and keeping some information on the suspect close to their vests, in hopes of making a swift arrest. The police chief said he did not want to release too much information and compromise the integrity of an ongoing investigation in the process.
The police chief noted that he received information from officials at UNC Hospitals that none of Boyer's vital organs were struck by what he called a "bird shot," dispensing numerous pellets into Boyer's chest. The caliber of the firearm has not been determined as of yet, however authorities are certain that only a single shot was fired, Brim said.
Boyer underwent emergency surgery this morning and will go through a host of X-rays and observations before going under the knife once again sometime today, according to family members.
"He is heavily sedated and is in the trauma-ICU unit in Chapel Hill," reported a visibly shaken ex-wife Brenda Boyer. "The doctors said that the shotgun pellets just missed his heart. They also told us that if the shot would have been one or two foot closer, it would have killed him instantly. He still has some pellets in him, so they will operate again Friday."
Ms. Boyer, who has a 7-year-old daughter (Kristina) with the victim, said she was close to her ex-husband.
"We stayed in touch," said Boyer. "We have a daughter together and we have always stayed in constant contact ... I was just floored when I heard about it this morning ... I was thinking about him and our daughter."
Boyer also said her former husband was an employee at Wal-Mart for the past "five or six" years.
"He always worked the third shift," she said. "I talked with his wife, Cheyenne, earlier. (At that time) she told me that she was still on her way to Chapel Hill and that he was still in surgery ... I am just praying for him."
Boyer also said that, as of press time, clues to why her ex-husband would have been shot are still sketchy. When asked if she thought it was a robbery, car-jacking or something else, Boyer answered, "I don't know."
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