POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY, Okla. (KFOR) – The Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help tracking down who shot at two teenage girls driving home and struck one of them in the neck.
“I feel like there’s no way this happened to me,” said Adrianna O’Daniel, an 18-year-old. “I’m, like, pretty in shock.”
O’Daniel and her friend Madison Gates, who’s also 18 years old, were driving eastbound on I-40 on their way home to Seminole after a 5K Race in Oklahoma City when the duo noticed a small SUV getting close to them.
Officials say the suspects began tailgating the victims and flashing their bright lights at them twice between the Grand Casino and the Earlsboro exit.
“He was just tailgating me with his light on and so I flipped him off,” said O’Daniel.
As both cars continued driving down the Interstate, the encounter escalated from annoying to absolutely terrifying.
“The vehicle got up beside them and opened fire and fired six rounds into the driver’s side of their vehicle,” said Lt. Travis Dinwiddie, with the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office.
One bullet struck Gates in the neck, and another struck her shoulder. The Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office says the shooting happened between 11:30 p.m. on Saturday night and 12 a.m. on Sunday morning.
“Her shirt was just drenched in blood,” said O’Daniel. “I was just squeezing her hand and I’m just screaming to God to please let us keep her.”
The victims rushed to a hospital and the suspects continued east on I-40.
Fortunately, Gates is expected to fully recover, according to O’Daniel.
Meanwhile, police are still trying to track down who was behind the trigger. The victims told investigators the suspects were driving a dark colored small SUV with a roof rack.
The vehicle is also believed to have had Texas plates.
“If they’ll do it to two 18-year-old girls that are just driving home from their 5K, they’ll do it to anybody,” said O’Daniel.
The victims believe the vehicle might be a purple Toyota Rav4, according to the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office.
If you witnessed the shooting, or have any information, call (405) 273-1727.
