Log in to WRAL.com with one click using your favorite social network:
OR
Log in using your WRAL.com account:



Wrong email/password combination.

Forgot password?

Register with WRAL.com using your favorite social network:
OR
Register for a WRAL.com account using our web form.

9:07 a.m. • 6-19-13

Weather Forecast for Raleigh

  • Today: Thunderstorm.
    • Hi: 85° F
  • Thu: Partly Cloudy.
    • Hi: 85° F
  • Fri: Partly Cloudy.
    • Hi: 85° F

Other Locations

> 7 Day Forecast

Doppler Image

Published: 2013-02-19 05:33:00
Updated: 2013-02-19 18:25:46

Motorcyclists targeted in Fayetteville attacks; one dead


Fayetteville Police Department cruiser (generic)
Fayetteville Police Department cruiser (generic)
print friendly

Police said they aren't sure if the shooting death of a Fayetteville motorcyclist Tuesday morning is connected to a hit-and-run involving a second motorcyclist.

Officers responding to a call shortly before 3 a.m. found a man and a badly damaged motorcycle in Bragg Boulevard near Skibo Road. The man, who police said was a member of the Hell's Angels motorcycle club, had been shot in the chest and was pronounced dead at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, police said.

About 10 minutes later, police received a call of a hit-and-run along Cliffdale Road, just west of Rim Road. Matthew John Key, 30, told police somebody in a silver or white four-door sedan shot at him and ran his motorcycle off the road. He said a man and a woman were in the car.

Key, an active-duty soldier and a member of the Wingmen motorcycle club, was taken to Womack Army Medical Center with injuries described as non-life-threatening.

The name of the slain motorcyclist hasn't been released.

Investigators are trying to determine whether the two men knew each other and whether the shootings are connected.

"When you look at the time frame, it's really tight," Police Chief Harold Medlock said, noting that the locations of the shootings are about 8 miles apart.

Police noted that both men were seen Monday night at Carolina Square, a plaza on Bragg Boulevard with several adult entertainment clubs.

"We do know that there was some altercation at some point in that shopping center," Medlock said. "We simply don't think this was random."

The altercation wasn't between rival motorcycle clubs, he said, and he doesn't expect any retaliation by any group.

"I don't want any of us to make any assumptions that are unfair," he said. "We're investigating both incidents, and we're going to let the evidence drive us to the conclusion of whether they were connected or not."

The flag outside the Hell's Angels clubhouse in Fayetteville flew at half-staff on Tuesday afternoon, but two men outside the building declined to comment.

Medlock, who officially started as police chief on Monday, has said combating gun violence will be a priority for the department. He said having one man killed and a second shot at in his second day on the job is frustrating.

"I'm angry," he said. "It frustrates me, it angers me that we have senseless violence on our streets in Fayetteville."

Anyone who saw anything suspicious at Carolina Square or at the two shooting locations is asked to call the Fayetteville Police Department at 910-433-1856 or Crime Stoppers at 910-483-8447.


22 Comments


WRAL.com welcomes your comments on this story. All comments are moderated prior to publication based on our posting guidelines. Please review them prior to posting and if your message is not approved.

View Comments VIEW ALL 22 COMMENTS

This story is closed for comments.

Latest Comments
im a biker that rides the so-called crotch rockets and we are not gangs for the most part all bikers get along...so i dont know where bubbadukeforpresident is getting his info

I wonder what the odds are that 2 bikers at the same club encounter problems with the same suspects (or even different ones) the same night 8 miles apart; 10 minutes apart. If it is the same people, how did they track the 2nd biker and find him 8 miles away? Odds of it being different people pretty far out also. Seems more likely that something in the story isn't adding up. I would love to know more about the altercation at the bar.

Bikers are pretty cool, except for the gangs that ride the crotch-rockets. Harley riders will leave you alone as long as you leave them alone.

So if a guy or gal on a bike is wearing a "patch".. they MUST be outlaws...hmmm.... explain that to the GoldWing Road Riders Association(GWRRA) members..... folks, please educate yourselves before you show how little you know.

"Been knowing Bikers all my life . . . Its not the Old Bikers you need to worry about" Hmmmmmmm?

View Comments VIEW ALL 22 COMMENTS