Left inset: James Wells (Onslow County Sheriff’s Office). Right inset: Dylan Rasmussen (GoFundMe). Background: The intersection of Burgaw Highway and Holly Shelter Road in Onslow County, N.C., where James Wells allegedly shot Dylan Rasmussen during a road rage incident (WITN).
A U.S. Marine and father of two enjoying a Sunday afternoon cruise on his new motorcycle — which he hoped to ride one day “with his sons as they grew older” — was shot dead in North Carolina last weekend during a road rage incident, according to his family and police.
“Dylan was trying to enjoy his Sunday afternoon ride,” Ryne Snooks, owner of the Ready to Ride motorcycle shop, told local NBC affiliate WITN about victim Dylan Rasmussen, 31, who had visited the business recently to purchase new tires. “I heard he just got his haircut and was going home,” Snooks said.
James Wells, 43, is accused of killing the “devoted husband” and “loving father” on Sunday around 1:30 p.m. near the intersection of Burgaw Highway and Holly Shelter Road in Onslow County, according to police and court documents.
“While riding on a highway in a motor vehicle, [Wells] stopped and had a verbal altercation with another motorist on motorcycle,” an arrest warrant states. “During the verbal altercation, [Wells]Â produced a firearm and shot the victim once in the chest.”
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Deputies with the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office were called to the scene and found Rasmussen, an active duty member of the Marines, with a single gunshot wound. He was transported to a local hospital, where he died from his injuries.
It’s unclear what the two men were arguing about, but the sheriff’s office has confirmed in a Facebook post that the fatal shooting “stemmed from a road rage incident” that occurred between them.
“This was an isolated event,” the office said. “The victim and suspect did not know each other.”
Wells fled the scene but was later arrested and charged with second-degree murder. He was being held this week on a $500,000 bond.
“Life is way too short to engage in this type of behavior,” District Attorney Ernie Lee told reporters in a statement this week, per WITN.
“We now have two individuals, one deceased and one sitting in jail,” Lee said. “We have two families, I’m sure, who are just devastated by all this. Life is just way too short to engage in this type of behavior. I mean, just don’t pull a weapon out on someone, it’s just not worth it.”
Onslow County Sheriff Chris Thomas urged the public on Facebook to stay safe and not “engage or escalate” confrontations with “aggressive or enraged” drivers.
“You never know what a stranger is capable of,” Thomas said.
A GoFundMe created for Rasmussen’s family describes how he “often spoke of how he looked forward to riding motorcycles with his sons as they grew older.” He was an active duty Marine who “dedicated his life not only to serving his country but, above all, to caring for and protecting his family,” according to the description.
“His love, strength, and unwavering commitment to those he loved were evident in everything he did,” the GoFundMe says.
