Recent high-profile reports of road rage incidents, some of which resulted in death, have led law enforcement agencies across the country to ramp up police presence and plead with motorists to practice safe driving.
In Irving, Texas, police requested the public's help after a man was recorded on video firing 17 shots at a car during a suspected road rage incident. In video shared by Irving police, the man is seen standing outside his white BMW while he shoots at a burgundy Chrysler 200.
The man fires 13 rounds before he puts the gun in his car and grabs a second firearm. He then fires four more shots before he gets in the car and flees.
The incident happened June 15; police released the video Wednesday. Authorities said the incident began with an altercation in a parking lot.
"The maroon/burgundy Chrysler 200 with a paper tag exited onto Valley View Lane and the white 4-door BMW followed. The driver of the white BMW pulled in front of the Chrysler, exited his vehicle on Valley View and began shooting at the Chrysler 200," police said. "Thankfully, no one was hit, but several vehicles, including an occupied vehicle, were struck by gunfire."
Road rage violence has become such a concern in Dallas that the police department is increasing law enforcement presence on freeways and will act against drivers caught committing aggressive acts.
A police spokesman said Thursday that over the last year, there have been 445 violent offenses motivated by road rage. The department does not have any data from before 2021, the spokesman said.
Last month, a pregnant woman in Dallas was shot after her boyfriend got into a dispute with another driver near Great Trinity Forest Way and Murdoch Road. Police said that the woman was struck once and that her baby was successfully delivered at a hospital.
Police said in a statement last month that "aggressive driving has become commonplace" and often leads to violence on the roadway.
"Many police departments across the country are seeing an uptick in road rage incidents. Dallas area highways have become increasingly congested and dangerous with more vehicles traveling at high speeds and more road-rage incidents being reported," the police department said.
In Fort Worth, authorities have increased efforts to target motorists who speed or drive recklessly, a spokesperson said Thursday.
"Typically these types of behaviors lead to a road rage incident," the spokesperson said.
The Lincoln Police Department in Nebraska said the number of violent road rage incidents has risen by more than 200 percent this year compared to last year. The police department said in a Facebook post that a majority of the recent cases involved guns and threats.
Authorities in Georgia have reported the same. WSB-TV reported that the Atlanta Police Department said most of the road rage violence it responds to involves gunfire.
A recent incident in Doraville, about 16 miles from Atlanta, involved a woman identified as Carmen Lee, 25, who was fatally shot while driving on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard. Authorities said they believe she was the unintended victim of a road rage attack and made a public plea last month for information that would help solve the killing.