The family of a man wounded by a hail of bullets in a road rage incident said they believe the attack was racially motivated.
Authorities said Wade McEwan, 61, was driving west on Ga. 92 near Woodstock Road in Roswell, when the victim, Jason Daxon, attempted to pass him. McEwan blocked the other car, and the other motorist tried to pass McEwan several more times, officials said.
“It’s just a senseless racist act of violence,” said Angeline Peterson, the victim’s fiancée and the mother of his 11-month-old son.
Cellphone video footage emerged showing the moment the elderly man opened fire on Daxon.
When the two cars reached a stop light, the older man unleashed a barrage of bullets through his still-up window — shattering it — into the 25-year-old driver’s vehicle. The victim turned around, driving in the other direction, but McEwan kept firing. Authorities said he shot at least 14 rounds.
“The man just shot through his own window into Jason’s car: he tried to kill him, he tried to kill him,” Peterson said. “It’s not like he was doing anything to antagonize this man, he was just simply trying to pass him on the road, and the man would not let him in.”
The video released on ATL Uncensored shows a woman startled in her seat and gripping the passenger’s headrest as the shots rang out. The car appears to be one to two cars away from the shooting. A man and children are also in the vehicle. The woman and children screamed at the sound of the gunfire.
“Oh my God! What is it,” one of the children asked.
“Thank God. Stay right here,” the woman said to the driver.
“Is that a gun?” the young boy screamed.
The young motorist was hit at least twice, once in the arm and once in the back and had to undergo surgeries. Doctors reportedly say it will take months for him to recovery. Peterson said Daxon is a Grammy-nominated songwriter who was working on taking his career to the next level.
“He was supposed to have his photo shoots, his interviews, everything you can think of, and it just stopped instantly,” Peterson said.
McEwan was arrested for aggravated assault, reckless conduct and reckless driving and is being held without bond.
