SALISBURY — The Rowan County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help after a 33-year-old woman was found shot in a truck on Gheen Road and died at the hospital.

April Elesha Whitley, who lives in Woodleaf, was shot in the chest after the vehicle she was riding in parked the driveway of a 1270 Gheen Road home, the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office said. As people exited the vehicle, a person jumped out of a nearby ditch and started shooting. That’s when Whitley was struck by a bullet, a news release said.

Whitley, who suffered a gunshot wound to the right side of her chest, died in a Rowan County EMS ambulance shortly after it arrived at at the Novant Health Rowan Medical Center emergency room.

The Rowan Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to the Gheen Road home at about 10:45 p.m. Tuesday after paramedics working a different call at 1305 Gheen Road were told by a man that a female gunshot victim was in his vehicle. The man and others in the vehicle left the scene without providing further information.

Rowan Sheriff’s Office deputies found shell casings in the driveway of 1270 Gheen Road, a news release stated. Detectives questioned occupants of the residence at 1270 Gheen Road and any residents nearby.

Anyone with information involving this crime is asked to call Rowan County Sheriff’s Office detective Adam Ratledge at 704-216-8739, 1st. Sgt. Ollie Greene at 704-216-8686, 1st. Lt. Rodney Mahaley at 704-216-8711 or Salisbury-Rowan Crime Stoppers at 1-866-639-5245.