Road Rage Leads to Shot Fired in Hartland

Two men say someone fired a gun at them while they were driving northbound on U.S. 23 on Friday night, according to a report from the Livingston County Sheriff's Department. 

A 53-year-year-old driver from Midland called 9-1-1 that night and told police that he and his passenger were driving in the left lane on U.S. 23 near Highland Road in Hartland around 4:30 p.m. when he had to "hit the brakes" for slowing traffic and avoid a collision.

Police say the driver then noticed a white car with two occupants traveling behind him which almost hit his vehicle. The white car then pulled alongside the front car where words were exchanged between the occupants, according to the report.

The 53-year-old man told police the driver of the white car then pulled out a black automatic pistol and shot the gun one time. According to the report, the Midland man slowed down and allowed the other car to pass him, but followed the white car for a time while calling 9-1-1.

Police say the Midland man eventually lost sight of the white car and pulled over on Center Road to wait for police. No injuries were reported, according to police, and no bullet holes were found in the car.

Fenton Police stopped the white car driven by the suspect on Thompson Road in Fenton after observing it "tailgating" and "weaving in and out of traffic," according to the report. Police say a gun was found in car's glove box and a spent shell casing was found on the floor of the vehicle.

The 23-year-old driver from Flint told police that he and his passenger were driving home after work and he had gotten "angry" at the car in front of him for driving slowly in the left lane and then it had slammed on it brakes almost causing an accident. 

The suspect then told police he had attempted to pass the car, but the other driver had sped up and he thought "the guy was messing with him and that pissed him off." According to the report, words were exchanged and then the suspect pulled his gun and "showed" it to the other car but did not fire the weapon.

According to the report, the suspect told police he returned the un-fired weapon to the glove box and drove away.

The suspect told police knew it was wrong to pull the gun but he only did it because he was angry. The suspect also told police that the shell casing found in his vehicle was from "the other day when he was shooting his gun."

The suspect was arrested for felonious assault and lodged at the Livingston County Jail. The passenger was arrested on an outstanding warrant and turned over to the Milford Police Department.