SAN ANTONIO – A 10-year-old boy has become one of the latest victims in what appears to be a growing problem in San Antonio — shootings stemming from road rage.
According to San Antonio police, the boy was grazed on his leg by a bullet fired into the SUV he was riding in with his family late Wednesday night.
A preliminary police report said the family was traveling along the Loop 410 access road between Nacogdoches Road and Broadway when someone in a black sedan fired at least three shots at them.
Police are still looking for that driver.
The family, however, is not alone in this type of experience.
In March, a 60-year-old man was grazed on his head when someone shot at him as he drove along Highway 90 near South General McMullen Drive.
Police also labeled that shooting as road rage.
Last May, what began with a car crash on a West Side street ended with a 26-year-old woman being shot to death.
Police later arrested the other driver who they believe shot her.
“I’m very worried about the gun situation,” Community Alliance for Traffic Safety owner Dean DeSoto said. “It’s a concern I have, and I know the police department has a concern, and so does the county.”
DeSoto’s nonprofit agency offers courses and counseling to drivers, among them those who have exhibited aggressive behavior.
DeSoto said road rage is usually the result of impulsive behavior, sometimes made worse by drugs and alcohol.
“Whatever they’re doing, the behavior, it’s the weapon of choice at the moment,” DeSoto said. “If there’s not a gun available, they go to the next thing which can even be the car.”
DeSoto said he has spent decades studying driving habits and road rage is not new. What is new, he said, is the gun violence associated with it.
“We’ve upgraded to weapons,” DeSoto said.
DeSoto said, to avoid this type of trouble, it is best to distance yourself from aggressive drivers and avoid engaging with them.
If that doesn’t work, drive to a place where you can get help, he said.
“If it’s an engagement situation, take it to the sheriff’s department. Take it to the police department. Drive over there,” DeSoto said.
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