One person was in stable condition May 27 after being shot multiple times following a road rage incident which escalated at a McDonald’s in Palm Coast, according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
The shooting occurred shortly after 10 p.m. on May 26 at the McDonald’s on Palm Coast and Belle Terre parkways. There were multiple 911 calls about a reckless driver, road rage and the shootings, the sheriff’s office stated in a release.
The victim wasn’t involved in the road rage incident, but had intervened after the fact, Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly told The News-Journal.
The investigation is continuing and no arrests have been made, the sheriff’s office stated.
Staly said in a phone interview that the incident began with a road rage incident between two drivers on Belle Terre Parkway with both pulling into the McDonald’s. There are indications that one driver may have followed the other into the McDonald’s but that has not been confirmed yet, Staly said.
In the McDonald’s parking lot, a 50-year-old man from Palm Coast shot a 61-year-old man from Daytona North, according to the sheriff’s office.
The Daytona North resident suffered a facial injury and multiple gunshot wounds, the release stated. He was flown by helicopter to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach. Staly said he was in stable condition.
The shooter was also taken to a hospital for evaluation and treatment, according to the sheriff’s office.
The shooter was armed with a small-caliber pistol, Staly said.
“Our deputies, detectives and crime scene investigators worked throughout the night and are still working diligently to investigate the circumstances surrounding this case,” Staly said in the release. “We have identified all persons involved, and there is no threat to the community.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the non-emergency line at 386-313-4911 or Crime Stoppers at 1-888-277-TIPS (8477)
Flagler sheriff says growing traffic has contributed to road rage
Staly said in the phone interview that Palm Coast’s population has increased by 45,000 people since he took office in 2017, but the roads have not kept pace. That has led to more frustration and more road rage incidents, he said.
Staly advised drivers not to engage in a road rage incident but to call the sheriff’s office instead so it could investigate.
Staly passed along some advice from his mother.
“My mother, as a kid growing up, she used to tell me that it takes a bigger person to walk away from a dispute than to sit there and engage it,” Staly said, “and so I would encourage our community to follow my mother’s advice.”
Check back for updates on this developing story.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Victim in Palm Coast shooting intervened in road rage, sheriff says
Reporting by Frank Fernandez, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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