The authorities in North Carolina accused a motorist who was stranded during the storm of shooting and killing a man who stopped to help him, The Charlotte Observer reported.

Marvin Jacob Lee, 27, was stuck in his car on the side of a road in Catawba County when three men riding by in a truck stopped to help, Sheriff Coy Reid said.

The men decided to call for the police for help because Mr. Lee became belligerent, according to the account in The Observer, but he pulled out an automatic pistol and fired on them as they called for the police.

The men ran but one was struck and fell. Mr. Lee walked over and shot him multiple times from close range while he lay in the snow, the authorities said. Sheriff Reid identified the victim as Jefferson Heavner, 26.

Deputies from the Catawba County Sheriff’s Department arrived followed by a SWAT team that found Mr. Lee passed out in his car. He was arrested and taken to Catawba County Jail, The Observer said.

The Catawba County Sheriff’s Department declined to comment on the case on Saturday night.