Driver caught pulling out gun on another driver in road rage incident
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Houston driver caught another driver pulling a gun on them on the East Loop Sunday afternoon.
The driver, who wished to remain anonymous, said he or she was trying to change lanes in order to take the exit to get on the North Freeway.
The driver said the man, who was reportedly in an older model blue Toyota Rav-4, would not let them switch lanes. That's when the driver slowed down and got behind the man. Almost immediately, the driver said the man slammed on his brakes, forcing the driver to swerve to avoid a crash.
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"I see him still behind me going through cars trying to, I guess, come up next to me and that's when I pulled my phone out and I see that he had a gun," the driver said.
The driver was able to capture the man on video holding the gun in his hand and hanging it out of the window of his car.
"People need to be aware that something as simple as switching lanes, without that person wanting you to, can aggravate them and have them pull out a gun on you," the driver said.
The driver is hoping that someone who knows the man will recognize him from the video to let him know what he is doing is dangerous.
"His family can let him know whatever he is doing isn't right, because he is going to take someone's life over a senseless act, and that's not what we need in this world right now," the driver said.
When the driver got home to their spouse, the driver remembered 17-year-old David Castro, whose life was taken during a road rage incident less than a week before while driving home from an Astros game.
READ ALSO: Dad to wanted gunman: Does hand gesture 'require you to execute' my son?
The driver does not believe there is any excuse to take someone's life over a disagreement on the road.
In data obtained by ABC13 on Monday, the Harris County Sheriff's Office took 82 reports of road rage in 2019, 63 in 2020 and so far in 2021, they have taken 57.
Those reports do not include aggravated assaults or homicides.
"It's making it harder for people like you or me to drive and go to work or do errands without maybe upsetting someone to the point that they want to take your life," the sheriff's office said.
The driver called 911 at the time to report the information and intends to formally file a police report this week.
For updates on this report, follow ABC13 reporter Mycah Hatfield on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
