FedEx driver shot at after running over family’s dog; mother, son arrested

CATAWBA COUNTY, N.C. — A mother and son were arrested Monday afternoon in Catawba County after authorities said bullets were fired into a FedEx truck after a family pet was run over.

Deputies said the gunfire erupted after the FedEx driver accidentally ran over a dog and was confronted by the owners.

Officials said the driver had gone to the Knolls neighborhood south of Newton just after noon. That’s when he accidentally ran over a family dog, deputies said.

Investigators said as part of FedEx’s policy, the driver pulled out of the driveway and pulled over to call his supervisor. Deputies said that’s when a woman and her adult son, identified as Maxwell Dixon, 23, and Sandy Dixon, 51, followed him in their pickup truck and tried to confront him.

Maxwell and Sandy Dixon Maxwell and Sandy Dixon (WSOC)

The driver explained to deputies he felt threatened and began to drive away. That’s when Maxwell Dixon fired three shots with a semiautomatic handgun at the FedEx truck.

All three shots struck the left rear door of the delivery truck.

FedEx driver shot at in Catawba County (WSOC)

The Dixons continued to follow the driver as he pulled into the Highway Patrol Station trying to find a police officer, officials said.

The driver called 911 and said he was being chased by the pair. Deputies found both the driver and the two suspects in the parking lot of the North Carolina Highway Patrol District Office on Smyre Farm Road.

Channel 9 crews could see three bullet holes in the back of the delivery truck. The driver was not hurt.

“It is definitely something that doesn’t occur much in this area,” said Capt. Aaron Turk, with the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office. “Certainly, people would be upset about their dog being run over, but this seems to be taking it a little too far.”

Authorities said they also found an AR-15 in the pickup truck.