PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. – A woman was taken to a hospital in critical condition after being shot in the stomach in a road rage incident in Putnam County Tuesday.
Keith Shaulis, 56, was arrested Thursday in connection to the incident that led to the woman being shot.
News4JAX went on patrol with Master Sergeant Nick Viera of the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office to discuss ways people can de-escalate heated encounters on the roadway.
Viera said if another driver is purposely tailgating you, look for a safe place to pull off the road to allow the other driver to move on.
“A well-populated gas station is somewhere you could go, but if it’s road rage, immediately call 911 and get on the phone with law enforcement,” Viera said.
Viera said all modern cell phones are equipped with a speakerphone and Bluetooth capability, which allows people to drive safely without holding the phone. While on the line with 911 dispatch, give them a description of the other vehicle and the driver if possible, along with a description of your vehicle.
“Think TLC: tag, location, car. A tag number if you have it. Location is imperative at number two, and then a description of the car at number three,” Viera said.
But what are your options if you are legally allowed to own and carry a firearm and the driver is armed and so enraged that he or she is purposely putting your life in imminent danger?
“If there’s an imminent threat to the safety of your wellbeing, you absolutely have the legal grounds to defend yourself. Of course, the best-case scenario would be to change direction, even pause your route. For a brief moment, maybe pulling into that well-populated gas station deters somebody and you give it five minutes then continue to where you were going,” Viera said.
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Law enforcement said people should never get out of their car to confront the other driver because they never know the other driver’s intentions, and that person may not know your intentions.
Investigators said the woman who was shot by Shaulis got out of her car and walked to his car when he fired multiple rounds at her.
Also, officials said if it’s obvious the other driver is mad at you for something that happened on the road and the two of you end up next to each other at a red light, it’s better to keep your window up and not make eye contact with the other driver.
Shaulis faces charges of aggravated battery with great bodily harm with a firearm, shooting or throwing a deadly missile into dwelling occupied or not occupied vehicles and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Shaulis is being held without bond.