MACCLESFIELD, NORTH CAROLINA – Quick thinking and decisive action by a senior citizen likely saved lives on Friday morning in Edgecombe County. According to the Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office, an elderly couple was ambushed by a stranger with a machete as they left the safety of their home.
The man allegedly waited behind the couple’s residence, and when they ventured outside, he attacked the man, slashing him with the machete. As the man fought for his life, his wife retreated into the house and came back out with her handgun. The woman fired a gun at the suspect, causing him to flee in his vehicle. Fortunately, thanks to his resistance and the woman’s intervention, the man’s injuries were minor.
The attacker has been identified as Carlos Antonio Washington, 36, of Tarboro, a small town about 15 miles away. He was arrested and charged with attempted murder. The Sheriff’s office is also looking at this incident as a possible hate crime.
Scott Fleming told local media that his father and stepmother, who were attacked, had never met the stranger before. “Washington tried to kill dad with a machete, but fortunately dad was able to fight him off long enough for my stepmom to get outside with her pistol.”
This ambush reinforces the need for peaceful law-abiding citizens to protect themselves by having a personal defense firearm readily available on their person. If the woman would not have been able to retrieve the pistol for any reason, this incident could have had a much more tragic ending for both her and her husband. It also proves that crime is not just a big-city or suburb problem…Macclesfield is a small town of around 500 residents, surrounded predominantly by farmland, that is 25-30 miles from the nearest cities of Rocky Mount, Wilson and Greenville.
