A father driving with his wife and two children was shot in the head Monday night after a minor crash on Interstate 20 in Arlington, police said. He was hospitalized with serious injuries, police said.
The shooting happened just after 8 p.m. on the westbound side I-20 near New York Avenue, according to Lt. Chris Cook with the Arlington Police Department.
Police said the shooter is a Hispanic male in his mid-20s, standing about 5-foot-8, with a mustache, goatee or beard. He was driving a light-colored sportscar with a hatchback or an SUV. Cook said to look for damage to the driver's side because the vehicle sideswiped the family's car.
The driver's wife told police the shooter was tailgating her family's car when he tried to pass them -- sideswiping the vehicle and knocking off its side mirror, Cook said.
When both vehicles pulled over after the collision, the shooter approached the driver's side of the car and banged on the window, Cook said. After the man rolled down his window, the shooter fired one shot and struck him in the head.
Cook said the driver spoke to officers when they arrived at the scene, but he was still transported to Medical City Arlington. The driver told police he started to turn his head as the shooter discharged the gun, which resulted in the driver being grazed by a bullet.
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"You're pulling over thinking you're going to exchange insurance information," Cook said. "And then you're faced with a gunman on the side of the road."
On Tuesday, police said the man is back home recovering.
Arlington police are currently searching for the shooter and said they have also notified other surrounding cities.
Arlington police still have not found the shooter that killed 19-year-old Dylan Spaid in another apparent road rage incident along I-20 in June 2017.
After that incident, Operation Freeway Safety, now known as Operation Safe, was created.
Jeffrey Pugh, commander of the traffic section for Arlington police department, said the program targets aggressive driving. It also has a hotline for people to call if they have any road rage issues.
“Right now so far we’ve had about 413 calls to that road rage hotline and have mailed out about 220 letters to the registered vehicle owners involved,” said Pugh.
NBC 5's Matt Jackson, Diana Zoga and Chris Blake contributed to this report.
