Charlotte County deputies spent part of Monday working two separate scenes after a reported road-rage incident involving gunfire, cordoning off a red pickup truck near Barstow Drive and Pasadena Drive while a white SUV sat wrapped in caution tape at a second location near Tribune Boulevard and Gasparilla Avenue. The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office says no one was hurt and all parties involved have been accounted for.
According to Gulf Coast News and Weather, deputies believe the incident stemmed from road rage that escalated into a firearm being discharged. The outlet reports that deputies blocked off areas near Barstow Drive and Pasadena Drive, where the red pickup truck was sectioned off at the scene, while investigators were also seen moving in and out of a nearby wooded area.
Two Scenes, One Investigation
Roughly across town, the second scene unfolded near Tribune Boulevard and Gasparilla Avenue, where a white SUV was surrounded by caution tape as part of the same probe, per the same report. The sheriff's office has not said how the two locations connect or what role each vehicle played, and the investigation remains active.
Beyond confirming that everyone involved has been located and that no injuries resulted, authorities have not released additional details about what sparked the confrontation or who was behind the wheel of either vehicle. The station's report does not indicate whether a weapon has been recovered or whether anyone faces charges.
A Familiar Pattern on Charlotte County Roads
This is not the first time road rage has turned to gunfire in Charlotte County. Back in January 2022, the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office reported that deputies responded around 10:30 p.m. on New Year's Day to a 911 call describing a road-rage incident that involved a firearm being discharged and ended in a vehicle collision. That crash moved a parked vehicle forward about four feet and caused moderate damage, and two people, Dylan L. Perez and Shiann M. Skidmore, were arrested, later bonding out for $2,500 and $20,000, respectively.
Other cases in the area show how quickly these confrontations can turn dangerous. In one incident, deputies responded around 1:20 p.m. to a road-rage call near Tamiami Trail and West Tarpon Boulevard, where Sean McCartney was accused of pulling a revolver from beneath the driver's seat of a black SUV and displaying it while yelling and cursing before driving off, as detailed by Gulf Coast News and Weather.
When Road Rage Shuts Down a Bridge
In another case, Punta Gorda police and Charlotte County Sheriff's deputies investigated a road-rage shooting near the U.S. 41 southbound bridge into Punta Gorda, a confrontation serious enough that the bridge was closed at its north end for several hours while officers worked the scene, according to YourSun.
The stakes can be even higher when children are involved. In Cape Coral, 37-year-old Johnathan Campillo was arrested in July after he was accused of firing multiple shots at a vehicle carrying an adult passenger and a 3-year-old child during a road-rage encounter, Gulf Coast News and Weather reported in its coverage of that case. None of those earlier incidents are connected to Monday's investigation, but they underscore how often ordinary traffic disputes in Charlotte County have escalated into gunfire.
For now, the sheriff's office has confirmed only the basics: a suspected road-rage incident, a discharged firearm, two cordoned-off scenes, and no reported injuries. Investigators have not released further details, and the case remains open.
