MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A crime scene unfolded as drivers began their commute home on I-240 Wednesday evening.
The 60-year-old victim, who didn’t want to be identified, says he was merging onto I-240 and Lamar when the man next to him started honking.
“I guess he thought I was going to run over him while I was getting on the interstate, but I didn’t. Then I got on, he let me on, then he got on the other side and got to fussing. I just threw my hands up like, ‘I’m sorry. I’m trying to get on the road. I don’t know what else to say.”
The victim didn’t think much of it, even a police car passed them. But the next thing he knows is that the enraged man shot into his back passenger door.
“The bullet went across, hit me, then went on out the driver’s door,” he said.
The bullet grazed his neck. He was able to drive until he saw another police offer who took him to the hospital.
He’s now recovering, but he says he’s stunned the gunman was so brazen.
The shooting sadly marks at least the 30th shooting on a Memphis highway. A map shows they’re happening all over the city.
The Memphis Police Department says they’re increasing their presence on the roadways with the help of others too.
“We have the Tennessee Highway Patrol, and we have Shelby County,” Sam Hines, with the Memphis Police Department, said.
The latest victim is now warning other drivers to be careful.
“I never would have thought this would happen to me.”
No arrests have been made.
We asked Memphis police if the majority of these shootings are road rage, random or if they’re happening between people who know each other. We also asked if the shootings are happening at a certain time of day, but we didn’t hear back.
[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1U769jFbXqG3ZXCnycshEHtvKl9HvVoLb&hl=en&w=640&h=480]
