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Fight at packed NC gas station caught on video as lines — and tensions — are growing

The worsening gas shortage in North Carolina is causing tension at the pumps — including actual fights among drivers waiting in line.

One fight in the Knightdale area east of Raleigh ended with two people facing assault charges, according to The Associated Press. Video of the fight, posted Tuesday on Instagram, shows it began when two vehicles came in close contact while lined up at a Marathon gas station Tuesday afternoon as anxious motorists tried to fill up their tanks.

In the video of the fight, a woman is seen getting out of a white Honda to spit on a man in line ahead of her. He then gets out of his vehicle to spit in her face and fists fly, with the two beginning to wrestle and rip at each other’s shirts.

It ends with the man kicking the woman’s phone into the street, and her chasing after it.

The rush to the pumps goes against warnings from experts, who have repeatedly said it only worsens the problem of fuel shortages.

“Reminder to motorists in Colonial’s operating area: rushing out and filling your tank will make the problem much much more acute and likely double or triple the length of any supply event,” Patrick De Haan, an analyst for GasBuddy, said on Twitter.

Video of the gas station fight in Knightdale has been viewed nearly 23,000 times as of Wednesday afternoon.

The Associated Press reported the woman was “charged with simple assault and the man was charged with assault on a female and damage to personal property.”

The fight ended up making international headlines Wednesday, with outlets such as The Daily Mail citing it as proof of a worsening American “crisis” that it reported has gripped “the southern Atlantic seaboard.”

A gas buying panic has spread across North Carolina and much of the Southeast over the past two days. The Colonial Pipeline, a major gas supplier, has been offline since the weekend due to a cyberattack halting the flow of fuel, according to McClatchy News. About half of all fuel on the East Coast is reportedly provided by the pipeline system.

A cybercrime group named DarkSide has claimed to be behind the incident, the FBI said.

As of Wednesday, 65% of gas stations in N.C. were reported to be out of gas, according to GasBuddy.com. In larger cities like Raleigh and Charlotte, more than 70% of stations were without gas, the site reports.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency Monday that suspended “motor vehicle fuel regulations to ensure adequate fuel supplies throughout the state.” Cooper urged consumers to report price gouging and to resist buying gas when not absolutely necessary.

Pipeline officials said they hope to “substantially” restore the flow of gas late in the week, McClatchy News reports.