Police in Wilson are investigating after a woman riding an Amtrak train was shot in the head as it passed through the city late Saturday night. The train stopped near Boswellville Road and Lely Road after the incident was reported at 11:15 p.m.
Deputies from the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office were first to reach the scene because the train was still in the county, and they found the woman alert and conscious with a gunshot wound to her head. She was taken to ECU Health Medical Center for treatment.
What makes the case especially troubling is how quickly investigators linked the shot to land in a specific part of Wilson while still leaving the most basic question unanswered. Wilson detectives determined the gunfire came from the 600 block of Walnut Street, and a crime scene was found in the area, but police have not identified who fired the shots.
Eric McInerny said a forensic unit collected evidence, and representatives from various railroad authorities also responded to help with the investigation. The shooting happened while the train was passing through Wilson, turning an ordinary trip into a public safety case that stretches beyond the tracks and into a neighborhood street.
The case remains under investigation, and officers are asking anyone with information to call the Wilson Police Department at 252-399-2323 or Crime Stoppers at 252-243-2255. For now, the woman remains the one person the facts make fully visible: a passenger struck by gunfire in transit, then rushed to care while police work backward from Walnut Street to figure out who was behind it.
