Driver Reports Being Shot at on California 94

A San Diego man told police that a motorist fired three shots at him Sunday night as he was driving west on California 94 near Interstate 15, authorities said Monday. It was the second report of a freeway shooting in San Diego in less than a week.

Adam Harris, 21, reported that he was driving in the slow lane of California 94 in central San Diego just before 11 p.m. when a passenger in a car ahead of him stuck his hand out the car window and fired three shots.

Harris told police that he did not see a gun, but “saw three flashes of light coming from the passenger’s hand, then he heard three loud bangs,” said San Diego Police Department spokesman Bill Robinson.

Neither Harris nor his car were hit by any shots, Robinson said.

Harris said he was driving 55 m.p.h. in the slow lane when another car, a dark blue or black 1978 or 1979 Chevrolet Malibu Classic, passed him in the next lane, going between 65 and 70 m.p.h. When the car was about 200 feet in front of him, the passenger fired three shots, but Harris could not tell if they were aimed at him.

The Chevrolet got off the highway at the 30th Street exit, Harris said.

Harris said he did not have a confrontation with the other motorist, and he was completely taken aback when he realized what had happened. “The only thing that seemed odd was that after it passed it swerved a little . . . nothing like they were going to pull out a gun and shoot at me,” he said.

It wasn’t until he got home about 10 minutes later that he realized how dangerous the incident was, Harris said. “I can’t explain why I wasn’t really shaken up. I guess I didn’t really realize what could have happened until I got home,” he said.

Robinson said police have no leads and have closed the investigation on the case. “What we need when we receive these reports are the license plate numbers,” he said.

Police have also closed the investigation on a reported freeway shooting that occurred last Wednesday in East San Diego, Robinson said. In that incident, businessman Ernest Elahi said he heard a gunshot and smelled gunpowder as he drove along a transition road from Interstate 15 to Interstate 805.