(Reuters) – Police in southern North Carolina were on Monday searching for the driver of an SUV who they say appeared to have intentionally struck six migrant workers outside of a Walmart Supercenter before fleeing the scene.
The incident unfolded on Sunday at 1:15 p.m. local time in Lincolnton, North Carolina, a town of about 11,000 people, some 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Charlotte, the Lincolnton Police Department said in a statement posted on Facebook.
Outside of the local Walmart, a motorist of an older model mid-size black Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) hit six migrant workers. The driver, described as an older white male, fled the scene in the vehicle.
All six were taken to the hospital for a variety of injuries. None of the injuries were considered life-threatening, the department said.
It “appears to be an intentional assault with a vehicle,” the department said, asking for the public to help in finding the driver. “The motives of the suspect are still under investigation.”
The incident comes almost three months after the driver of a SUV mowed down people near a homeless shelter that attends to migrants in Brownsville, Texas. Eight people were killed while the driver was arrested on manslaughter charges.
(Reporting by Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
