WESTERVILLE, Ohio (WCMH) – One woman is dead and a suspect was found in North Carolina hours later after a shooting Tuesday outside a grocery store in Blendon Township.

Blendon Township police arrived about 5:50 p.m. at the Sunbury Plaza shopping center in the 5900 block of Sunbury Road, where they found Amara Jones, 24, inside a car having been shot in the head. Jones was taken to Mount Carmel St. Ann’s hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m.

“They searched the parking lot,” said Blendon Township Police Chief John Belford. “A woman was found unresponsive in a car and they immediately began performing first aid and CPR until medics could transport the woman to the hospital.”

Rodney Perry (Courtesy/Columbus Division of Police)

After several hours on the run, Rodney Amir Perry, 29, was spotted and arrested by police in Concord, North Carolina, just after 1 a.m. According to a Franklin County Municipal Court affidavit, Perry called his mother as well as 911 and admitted to shooting Jones.

Columbus police said Perry was wanted on an active warrant before Tuesday’s shooting.

Blendon Township detectives originally searched for Perry at a home on the 7000 block of Waterfront Lane in Blacklick, where Perry is believed to live, but did not find him. Perry, who fled the scene in a 2017 gray Toyota pickup truck, was believed to have a rifle and two handguns with him and was considered armed and dangerous.

Perry is currently being held in the Cabarrus County jail.

“We would definitely like to thank all the jurisdictions that helped bring this fugitive to justice both state, county, and local in four different states,” Belford said.

The active warrant against Perry at the time of his arrest was filed in September 2022 and stems from him allegedly violating a protection order. Perry also had domestic violence charges filed against him in May 2022, but they were later dismissed, court records state.

“Right now we are working with the Franklin County prosecutors through the process of extradition to get the suspect returned from North Carolina to Ohio to face justice here,” Belford said.

Blendon Township police say a detective sat with Jones’ loved ones at the hospital all night last night.

Police are still unsure of the relationship between Perry and Jones, or if one even exists.