911 calls released from deadly road rage shooting reveal terror
SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB/Gray News) - Questions linger about a deadly road rage incident that happened on May 13.
The shooting happened at the intersection of Fruitville and Cattlemen roads.
Patrol deputies responded to the area for a reported shooting at about 8:08 p.m. and located a man who had been shot in a pickup truck, according to officials.
Nearby, a female driver and male passenger were found in a sedan. According to the press release, the passenger stated that after a verbal altercation, the driver of the pickup truck pointed a gun at him and the driver of the sedan.
The passenger said that he got out of the vehicle and fired multiple rounds into the driver’s side of the pickup truck, striking the driver.
The man has a valid concealed carry permit and had a firearm on him at the time.
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office released a number of 911 calls to WWSB.
Eyewitnesses, who did not share their names, described the harrowing details.
One of those callers described the chaos, “We just heard pop pop pop pop!”
Another caller said, “I saw the gun in the hand.”
One terrified driver after another reported shots fired and a pickup truck rolling eastbound along Fruitville Road.
A third caller said, “There were two cars in front of us, the car that was the furthest in front, to the left, started shooting at the car on the right.”
A fourth 911 caller said, “Someone got out of the car behind us and shot someone in another car.”
An eyewitness also described seeing that pickup with the driver in the front seat who was shot.
This person said, “We were sitting at a light, and we heard gunshots, and [in] this black truck, [there was] a person dead in it. The car is just going forward.”
The dead person inside the truck was a 58-year-old Sarasota man.
A caller said, “About five shots were fired.”
People driving in the area were fearful for their lives.
“We need somebody to come get this car because he is about to hit somebody,” a caller said when describing the pickup truck with a presumed-dead driver slumped behind the wheel.
Deputy reports did not name the driver, who they found dead with a gunshot wound to the head, citing privacy laws.
They also cite that same reason for not providing the names of the man who fired those deadly shots or his passenger.
The sheriff’s office confirmed that these three people involved were all from Sarasota.
For the several eyewitnesses, who saw someone get shot and killed that fateful Saturday evening right before Mother’s Day, it’s an image they will never forget.
“I’m sick to my stomach,” said a caller.
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