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Road rage shooting suspect chased father, 4-year-old child through downtown Hillsborough, police say

A trip to go trick or treating on Halloween turned into a nightmare for one family, after a 27-year-old father and his young son were caught in a rolling road rage incident in Orange County.
Posted 2022-11-01T15:30:15+00:00 - Updated 2022-11-09T19:12:35+00:00
Bullet went through 4-year-old's Halloween costume, car seat during road rage shooting

More details about a road rage shooting that injured a 4-year-old on Halloween are coming to light after the shooting suspect had his first court appearance on Tuesday afternoon.

A trip to go trick or treating on Halloween turned into a nightmare for one family, after a 27-year-old father and his young son were caught in a rolling road rage incident in Orange County.

Investigators say Kelly Brandon Long, 41, of Hurdle Mills, followed a father and child, who were driving on their way to go trick-or-treating on Halloween – and fired a gun at their vehicle several times. Police say the father drove away, and Long pursued, leading to a chase through downtown Hillsborough.

Police documents say the chase was caught on security cameras in a neighborhood. Deputies were able to find and arrest Long after a nearby resident shared surveillance video that showed Long's vehicle following that of the father and child.

During the alleged chase, Long's wife, who was in the car with him, called 911, according to authorities.

On Tuesday morning, officials arrested Long, who is a driver with the Orange County Solid Waste Department, and charged him with four counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill.

By Thursday morning, Long was still an active employee for the county, with no disciplinary actions on his record.

Assistant District Attorney Jeff Nieman said a bullet went through the child's firefighter costume and grazed his skin.

After the chase, the father called 911 from a Shell gas station on Highway 70 just after 7 p.m.

At first, the father didn't even realize how close of a call his 4-year-old son had, according to Alicia Stemper with the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

"Deputies generally ask if anybody was hurt. and the father said, 'No we're all fine. We don't need medical care,'" she said.

It was only then that deputies noticed a small hole in the shirt of the child's costume. That's where they found a small burn on the child's back from a bullet that came through the trunk, his car seat, and his fireman's costume.

Their car had damage in "several other places ... consistent with being struck by gunfire," deputies said.

Assistant District Attorney Jeff Nieman describes the child's lack of serious injury as a miracle.

"Must have been some kind of divine intervention that this wasn't much more tragic," he said.

Long was initially being held on $50,000 secured bond. However, during his court appearance on Tuesday afternoon, the bond was raised to $100,000.

"This behavior exhibits a substantial risk to the community, so that's why I asked for the bond to be higher," said Nieman.

WRAL News spoke with one of Long's family members, who said this was out of character for him.

Long's next court date will be next Monday.

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