Nearly two years after a roadside confrontation turned into gunfire near Falkenburg Road, a Tampa man is back in a Hillsborough County courtroom, this time with a firm trial calendar creeping closer. Rasool Abdul Hakeem, accused of opening fire on another car and injuring a teenage passenger during an August 2024 road-rage clash in Riverview, appeared before a judge on Wednesday, July 8, 2026. The judge set a follow-up hearing for July 16, keeping the case in pretrial limbo while both sides sort through evidence in the felony shooting case.
Court appearance and testimony
Hakeem was brought before a Hillsborough County judge on Wednesday, and the court agreed to reconvene on July 16, according to WFLA. In testimony described in that report, the other driver, identified in court as Jeremiah Potter, said he tried to cut off a red SUV during the encounter and added that the SUV did not honk before shots were fired.
What happened in 2024
According to a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office press release, the confrontation unfolded on Aug. 27, 2024, as two vehicles traveled northbound near 4202 South Falkenburg Road in Riverview. Deputies say one of the cars was hit by gunfire during the incident. The sheriff’s office reported that Hakeem admitted to firing two shots, and that a teenage passenger in the other vehicle was grazed by one of the rounds. The teen was taken to Tampa General Hospital with injuries described as non life threatening. The agency said Hakeem was charged with attempted second-degree murder and with shooting at or into a vehicle.
Evidence and defense claims
Prosecutors have already begun laying out what they say happened in the moments before the shots were fired. During earlier court proceedings, they played Hakeem’s 911 call from the scene, in which he told dispatchers he fired “in self-defense” because he believed another driver was trying to run him off the road, according to FOX 13. The outlet reported that detectives testified they found fresh scuff marks along the driver’s side of Hakeem’s vehicle. Investigators also told the court they have not yet located independent evidence that backs up Hakeem’s account of being forced off the road.
Legal context
Asked whether Florida’s Stand Your Ground law might factor into the case, Hakeem’s attorney told FOX 13 that “it’s actually too early to know that at this point” and said more investigation is needed before a final defense strategy is chosen. The charges Hakeem faces are felonies in the 13th Judicial Circuit, and prosecutors are continuing to review the evidence as the case moves through a series of pretrial dates.
Next steps
The case is set to return to court on July 16, when both the prosecution and defense are expected back before a judge. Public dockets and filings for the 13th Judicial Circuit can be searched through the Hillsborough County Clerk of Court. For now, the matter remains in pretrial status while investigators and the State Attorney’s Office continue reviewing witness statements, recordings and other evidence in the Riverview road-rage shooting.
