2 dead in suspected Oklahoma road rage shootings

Two people were killed in separate shootings on a western Oklahoma interstate early Thursday after a man drove through three counties firing randomly from his pickup truck, authorities said. The suspected shooter later surrendered and was being held in a county jail.

Custer County Sheriff Bruce Peoples said reports came in late Wednesday of a man firing at vehicles on Interstate 40 in Canadian County, which is adjacent to Oklahoma City. The man apparently continued driving west on the interstate, firing at vehicles as he drove erratically and at a high rate of speed, the sheriff said.

One person was fatally shot in the Caddo County town of Hydro and another was killed about 10 miles away in Weatherford, Peoples said. In both cases, the driver was able to pull over to the shoulder of the road after the shooting, he said.

The suspect eventually surrendered without incident early Thursday in Custer County, Peoples said. The man is being booked in the Custer County jail and authorities have not yet interviewed him to determine a motive, but they don’t suspect anyone was specifically targeted.

“He shot so many vehicles that it would have be totally impractical to assume he knew them,” Peoples said, describing the case as a suspected road rage incident.

Multiple other vehicles were struck by gunfire in the incident, but those drivers escaped injury, Peoples said.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol are also investigating.

Associated Press