Police confirm road rage incident preceded McDonald’s shooting; no charges filed
Ryan Shiner
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
No charges will be filed in a Sunday afternoon shooting.
The Columbia Police Department confirmed in a Tuesday press release that a road rage incident preceded a fatal shooting at the McDonald’s on Nifong Boulevard.
Police on Monday said they were not willing to discuss a possible motive, though D’Markus Thomas-Brown – of the Office of Violence Prevention – stated road rage was a likely reason.
Police wrote that Derek Gonzalez, 32, of Columbia, was pronounced dead at an area hospital after he and another driver “encountered each other in traffic” around 12:40 p.m. Sunday. The drivers pulled into a McDonald’s parking lot and fired shots at each other.
CPD wrote that it reviewed the case with the Boone County Prosecutor’s Office and that no criminal charges will be filed. However, police note the investigation is “ongoing.”
“It was two individuals, not interpersonal, traffic signal parking lot discussion, an altercation, and then followed across the street at McDonald’s to the individual getting shot and killed, and another individual being shot,” Thomas-Brown told ABC 17 News on Monday. “And so, just road rage that lends itself to a lost life.”
One person was detained at the scene but later released.
Check back for updates.