On the afternoon of December 13, 2025, a violent series of events in Robeson County, North Carolina, resulted in the tragic death of Marie Barton Locklear. The incident began when emergency medical services responded to a call for help on Chavis Road in Red Springs, where a man claimed to be experiencing a medical emergency. Upon the arrival of the paramedics, the situation rapidly deteriorated as the individual produced a firearm, threatening the first responders and hijacking their
ambulance.
The suspect, identified as Cheyenne Woods, fled the scene in the stolen emergency vehicle. As he drove erratically through the area between Lumberton and Pembroke, he collided with a car driven by the 74-year-old female victim. Following the crash, Woods exited the ambulance and opened fire, fatally wounding Locklear. She was subsequently transported to UNC Southeastern Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries. Her husband of 52 years later recounted that she had spent the day visiting a terminally ill relative and was driving home when the senseless act occurred.
Law enforcement officers apprehended the 36-year-old suspect near the scene of the collision. Woods was charged with first-degree murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm by a felon, felony assault on EMS personnel, and multiple counts of discharging a weapon into occupied property. During the investigation, it was revealed that Woods had a prior criminal record, having been convicted of second-degree murder in 2017 for a killing that took place in 2010. He had been released from prison in 2022 after serving five years of a thirteen-year sentence. A judge denied bond for Woods as the victim's family began to mourn their sudden loss.
