Two men killed each other in a California road rage shooting that was witnessed by one of the men’s young children.
Road rage shooting kills two
A hit-and-run incident turned into a deadly confrontation that ended the lives of both Johnathan McConnell, 38, from Corona, and Aaron Harris, 37, from Highland, in a bar parking lot.
McConnell was swerving through traffic on a motorcycle when he collided with Harris’ car on Saturday night.
Instead of stopping, McConnell continued driving, prompting Harris to follow him into the parking lot of Joy’s Bar and Lounge.
Harris’ two children, aged two and five, were in the backseat during the car chase.
McConnell met with several acquaintances in the parking lot when he pulled into the bar.
Harris then entered the lot and began yelling at McConnell, escalating into a confrontational exchange.
Both men were armed, and the altercation resulted in their deaths. Officers arriving at the scene attempted to save them, but both were later pronounced dead at the hospital.
“It could have been so simple. Unfortunately, two lives were lost,” San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Mara Rodriguez acknowledged to ABC7.
Harris’ children were unharmed, but another man at the scene sustained a hand injury from the shooting.
Man sentenced in road rage shooting
In a similar incident, the driver of a Maserati received a 32-year prison sentence for a road rage shooting in Washington, D.C.
On May 19, 2021, Kenneth Miles Davis Jr. shot a woman in the arm during a road-rage encounter, while her 5- and 11-year-old children were in the car at the time.
A jury convicted the 45-year-old in January for multiple charges, including assault with intent to kill while armed, assault with a dangerous weapon, and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
Marnitta L. King, Davis’s attorney, stated that he plans to appeal the conviction. “Mr. Davis will continue to fight to prove his innocence,” she said.
At around 5 p.m. on the day of the incident, Davis exited his Maserati and began shooting into the woman’s vehicle.
Surveillance footage captured him firing six rounds at her car as she drove away, then seven more at bystanders before leaving the camera’s view.
Although the woman was hit, no other bystanders were injured, aside from the woman’s 5-year-old who was cut by broken glass.
The woman identified Davis from a police photo lineup, expressing her certainty by saying, “It was him,” and “I’m positive, my heart is pounding,” according to a police affidavit.
NYPD cop charged in road rage shooting
Separately, a New York City police officer, Hieu Tran, 27, faces attempted murder charges after allegedly shooting a man in a suspected road rage incident in New Jersey.
Tran has been charged with first-degree attempted murder, second-degree aggravated assault, and second-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.
Police responded to a multi-car crash on the night of May 17, and discovered one of the drivers, a 30-year-old man, with a gunshot wound.
Investigators used surveillance footage, cellphone records, and ballistics evidence that linked to his NYPD-issued firearm to identify Tran as the shooter.
Tran is being held in New York pending extradition to New Jersey, and has been suspended from his job.
LAX brawlers injure elderly woman
In another road rage incident in California, two men were involved in a fist fight that resulted in an elderly woman being knocked unconscious outside Los Angeles International Airport.
According to Los Angeles Police, the woman was at curbside check-in the morning of May 31, when two men, engaged in a road-rage fight, collided with her, causing her to lose consciousness.
Video footage shows the men chasing each other on the sidewalk before running into the drop-off lane, and slamming into the elderly woman who was handing her bags to airport staff.
All three fell to the ground as the men continued fighting while the woman lay unmoving.
“The two individuals slammed into the elderly woman, causing her to fall to the ground, knocking her unconscious,” police reported.
According to Los Angeles Police Detective Scott Danielson the woman is “doing better,” but has “a long road ahead” towards recovery.
One man turned himself in to police, but they are still searching for the other assailant, who authorities have identified as Jasan Givens, Sr., aged 38. They both face felony battery charges.
