I-485 shooting suspect pleads guilty in federal court
The Latest:
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The man accused of shooting at vehicles along I-485 in Charlotte has pleaded guilty in federal court.
Anil Dabydeen, 40, of Charlotte, appeared in federal court today and pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon for shooting at vehicles on I-485, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Anil Dabydeen
Alicia Jones, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and Chief Estella Patterson of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), join U.S. Attorney Ferguson in this announcement.
According to court documents and today’s court hearing, on January 8, 2025, at 3:49 p.m., CMPD officers were dispatched to I-485 at the South Tryon Street exit for a reported shooting. Court documents show that CMPD received several 911 calls describing a male operating a
white Honda sedan on the highway who was shooting at passing vehicles.
Law enforcement arrived on the scene and located two victims who had been struck by gunfire. The victims told the officers that they were traveling south on I-485 when their vehicle was struck by gunfire.
While on the scene, the officers reviewed a video shot by a witness. The video showed a white sedan stopped on the side of the highway, and an individual, later identified as Dabydeen, walking around the vehicle brandishing a firearm and pointing it at passing vehicles.
Court records show that, while the officers were investigating the incident, they observed a white Honda sedan traveling south at a high rate of speed. The officers recognized the vehicle as the one observed during the shooting and began to pursue the vehicle. After a brief pursuit,
Dabydeen stopped the vehicle, and he was taken into custody.
Officers recovered from Dabydeen a live round of 9mm ammunition, and a Taurus, Model G3c, 9mm pistol that had been reported stolen. Dabydeen has a prior felony conviction for 1st Degree Manslaughter in New York, and he is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition.
“The violent shootings in Charlotte have gotten out of hand,” said U.S. Attorney Ferguson. “Where we can, the federal government will step in and put the most violent offenders behind bars.”
Dabydeen remains in federal custody. A sentencing date has not been set. The ATF and CMPD led the investigation.
Original Story Posted: Jan. 8, 2025:
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte driver is in custody after police say he shot into another car and severely injured two people. Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department said it responded to an assault with a deadly weapon call just before 4 p.m. Wednesday at the Interstate-485 outer loop that leads onto South Tryon Street.
Investigators say the incident started with a dispute on I-485 and escalated to gun fire. A driver in a white car shot into another car with two people inside. Police confirmed that both people were hit by gunfire and where severely injured although it was not life threatening.
A witness said while investigators were on the scene, the driver of the white car looped back around. Highway Patrol said a trooper recognized the vehicle and pursued it a few miles away to a neighborhood on Ballybay Drive.
Officers were able to stop the driver and take him into custody. Highway Patrol found a firearm in the drivers possession.
