No one is a stranger to a case of feeling angry while driving. Most experience being cut off, or bumped into, or even someone laying on the horn due to impatience. However, Eric Popper took his anger too far.
A Florida man was arrested after he allegedly opened fire during a road-rage shooting in June and authorities from Miami-Dade released chilling new dashcam footage of the incident.
The June 21 incident occurred on I-95 in northwest Miami-Dade after it is believed Eric Popper, the man arrested, cut off another driver, WSVN reported. The other driver, who was not identified, tailgated Popper, and hand gestures between the two were exchanged.
Local 10 reported that state troopers and Popper’s lawyer disagree on what happened next.
Robert Gershman, the 30-year-old’s lawyer, told the outlet that the video is proof that his client was shot at first, and he returned fire in self-defense.
“On the video, you can hear and see the other driver shoot his car,” Gershman said, pointing out that his client heard the sound prior to shooting.
The driver of the Camry did not have a gun in his vehicle but admitted to throwing a water bottle at Popper’s SUV, investigators said. Popper fired the gun 11 times at the other driver, through his own window and windshield, WSVN reported, citing investigators.
Popper pulled off the highway and called law enforcement. He later turned himself in to the Florida Highway Patrol, provided the dash-cam video, and resigned from his job as a civilian fire inspector with Miami Beach Fire Rescue.
Popper was previously arrested in 2012, but his charges were dropped, NBC 6 reported. He now faces two second-degree felony charges for this incident, authorities said.
This unhinged clown will have a hard time proving that he felt that his life was in danger because something was thrown at his vehicle. Hopefully, he will receive the maximum penalty because he not only endangered the vehicle that he was shooting at because if he had hit the driver, he would also have caused a serious accident.
I served as a Sargent in the Florida Highway Patrol Auxiliary (Troup G in Jacksonville and Troup A in Pensacola) in the 1970’s. I now live in East Texas and carry a .40 Caliber everywhere I go that ii is legal to carry.