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INDIANAPOLIS — State Police say they’ve seen an alarming increase in road rage incidents leading to an increase in highway shootings. Sergeant. John Perrine says it’s a trend that the cops have been noticing for years.
“All the way back to 2018, we only had nine shootings on Indianapolis area interstates that year,” said Perrine. “In 2022, we had 66 that we investigated. We want awareness, we want people to be educated and people to avoid those road rage situations.”
In May, a 19-year-old was shot on I-465. According to the police, this incident stemmed from road rage during a merge from Brookville Road. State law enforcement mentioned that an individual yelled at and swerved toward the teenage driver, ultimately firing multiple rounds that struck and injured the teen. While the teenager is expected to recover, this incident indicates a disturbing pattern.
“It’s certainly a felony to point or display a firearm in a road rage situation,” said Perrine. “We’ve had success in prosecuting those [cases] with felony charges, and obviously, that charge gets enhanced significantly if you fire that weapon.”
So far this year, ISP has responded to 39 road rage incidents resulting in shootings on Indianapolis roads, but cops say they’ve responded to 124 other incidents involving people pointing guns during a road rage incident.
