Fort Worth drivers face a disturbing spike in road rage incidents as multiple shootings have erupted on local highways in recent weeks, including a harrowing Thanksgiving weekend attack where a father and son survived a barrage of gunfire that left their SUV riddled with bullets.
Damon Gochneaur and his 17-year-old son were heading to a soccer tournament near Austin the day after Thanksgiving when their vehicle was suddenly targeted on southbound I-35 between the Berry Street and Seminary Drive exits in Fort Worth. The attack came without warning.
“There was no like, not the usual tell-tale, flipping off, no brake checking, it was like within me passing him to like three and a half, four minutes later, I was having shots fired in the back of my car,” Gochneaur told local media.
Bullets Miss by Inches
Police report that a black Nissan sedan fired approximately 12 rounds of 9mm gunshots at Gochneaur’s SUV, shattering the rear window. One bullet lodged in a headrest, missing the occupants by mere inches. The close call left the father shaken but grateful they escaped physical harm.
“My son said, ‘Dad, they’re shooting at us.’ I said ‘There’s no way,’ then I looked in my rearview mirror and I saw my rear glass spider, so a shot came through the rear glass and ended up embedding in the headrest in my middle row of my car,” Gochneaur recounted.
The terrifying incident is just one in a series of road rage shootings plaguing Fort Worth streets. Just a day earlier, on Thanksgiving evening, another violent confrontation erupted on southbound East Loop 820 near Sun Valley Drive.
What began as aggressive driving quickly escalated to gunfire around 7 p.m. when two vehicles began chasing each other. The situation culminated in a multi-vehicle crash with one car overturning and one person being shot in the back. The victim was hospitalized, though their current condition remains unknown.
Pattern of Violence
Is this the new normal for Fort Worth commuters? Earlier incidents suggest a troubling trend. On November 22, two women became targets when a vehicle followed them near 4952 Esplanada St., firing multiple shots that left bullet holes and a shattered rear driver side window in their car. A passenger suffered minor leg injuries that were treated at the scene, according to video footage of the aftermath.
Despite the frequency and severity of these incidents, arrests have been scarce. In the most recent cases, suspects remain at large, with Fort Worth police actively seeking information from the public. The black Nissan involved in the Thanksgiving weekend shooting has yet to be located, and authorities have released few details about suspects in the other cases.
Traffic safety experts point to increased stress, crowded roadways during holiday travel, and the prevalence of firearms as contributing factors to the rise in violent road confrontations. The combination has proven deadly in cities across Texas.
Fort Worth police have increased patrols along major thoroughfares in response to the shootings, but catching perpetrators remains challenging as these incidents unfold rapidly and often without witnesses willing to come forward.
For Gochneaur and his son, their narrow escape serves as a sobering reminder of how quickly routine drives can turn deadly on today’s roadways. “We’re just thankful to be alive,” he said, still processing the random violence that nearly claimed their lives over nothing more than sharing the same stretch of highway with the wrong driver.
