MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis Police are investigating a case of road rage that ended with shots being fired on Interstate 40 downtown Monday night, shattering the victim’s truck’s window.
Police responded to the call around 7:15 p.m. at I-40 and Front Street.
A woman driving westbound on I-40 towards the DeSoto Bridge was involved in a possible road rage incident with the driver of a newer model blue Ford Mustang.
The victim told police a person in the Mustang fired shots that struck his vehicle. The gunfire shattered the passenger-side window of her Chevrolet Silverado.
There were no injuries reported.
The woman told police a four-door Hyundai Elantra was also involved in the road rage incident, but she said no shots were fired from that vehicle.
“We’re going to continue to keep our enforcement efforts on the highway,” Memphis Police Director Michael Rallings said.
Including Monday night’s incident, there have been 36 reported shootings on Memphis interstates in 2019 after a rash of shootings during the first half of the year.
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This latest road rage incident comes at the end of a six-week program called Operation Grizzly Bear. Police beefed up their presence on the interstate system, focusing on I-240, I-40, I-55 and Bill Morris Parkway, where the majority of shootings have have happened
Thirty Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers joined MPD forces during the operation to decrease the number of interstate shootings. But Rallings said law makers in Nashville hold the key to reducing road rage by creating and passing tougher laws.
“From Middle Tennessee, East Tennessee, Shelby County delegation, what are they going to do to make our streets safer?” Rallings said. “Because you’re always asking the police director that question, but the police director can not make a single law. Guns in cars is part of this problem. We need to do something about that.”
Anyone with information on Monday’s shooting incident on I-40 should contact CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH.
