American roads have become deadlier than ever after an alarming rise in violence in several unexpected states, including Washington and Indiana.
Federal data obtained and analyzed by USA today reveals that highway shootings have increased by more than half in the past five years nationwide.
These incidents don’t just happen in densely populated areas: these explosions of violence have caused concern among drivers in other communities, especially since the shooters often flee before the police arrive.
Federal prosecutor Alexander MM Uballez believes road rage incidents reflect a social disconnect. He argues that people often fail to empathize with others on the road, leading to tragic consequences.
“Often people don’t see the person in the other car as another person (or) someone in their community because they are overwhelmed by a moment of anger,” he told USA Today.
Highway shootings have increased significantly in recent years across the United States.
A recent shooting in Kentucky involved Joseph Couch, a 32-year-old Army veteran, who opened fire on vehicles, wounding five people.
Recently, a shooting on a Kentucky highway captured the attention of the entire country.
A two-week manhunt for a suspect who opened fire on vehicles in Kentucky ended abruptly on Wednesday. Army veteran Joseph Couch, 32, opened fire on motorists on Interstate 75 near London on Sept. 7, wounding five people.
The attack, which involved an AR-style rifle purchased hours before the shooting, sparked a widespread manhunt.
A YouTuber couple, Fred and Sheila McCoy, accidentally discovered the suspect’s decomposing body while live-streaming their search in the Daniel Boone National Forest. They had noticed vultures circling over a specific area and decided to investigate.
The Kentucky shooting was not the only highway shooting to spark national outrage.
Just five days before the Kentucky shooting, on Labor Day afternoon in Washington state, a gunman wounded six people in a series of attacks along Interstate 5 outside Seattle. He rammed about 10 vehicles and left two people in critical condition with gunshot wounds to the neck and chest.
The I-5 shooter in Washington is not an isolated incident, as reported shootings on the state’s highways have skyrocketed more than 55 percent between 2019 and 2023 (from 602 to 937).
Instances of motorists threatening other drivers with their guns increased by 35 percent during the same period.
The couch was found by YouTube couple Fred and Sheila McCoy, who accidentally discovered the suspect’s decomposing body while livestreaming their search in the Daniel Boone National Forest.
Nicholas Karol-Chik (left), Zachary Kwak (center) and Joseph Koenig (right) have been charged with instigating a rock-throwing spree in the Denver area that left 20-year-old Alexa Bartell dead.
According to data shared by Chris Loftis, Director of Communications for the Washington State Patrol, gang violence accounts for a quarter of road violence, including robberies and domestic disputes.
Loftis told USA Today that the rise in shootings could be directly related to more guns in circulation and more people driving on the roads. He said, “More cars means more potential for conflicts on the roads, and more guns increase the likelihood that these conflicts will turn deadly.”
Beginning in 2024, the number of reported shootings is on track to surpass the previous record of 1,058, set in 2022.
Most shootings in Washington occur on Interstate 5 between Seattle and Tacoma.
Just days before the Kentucky shooting, a driver with unknown motives randomly shot nearly a dozen people, including a family with two young children.
Eric Jerome Lee Sentell Perkins was charged with five counts of assault for the attacks, which spanned a 25-mile stretch of interstate highway in two counties.
The recent spate of shootings is the second such incident in Washington state in a year.
Last December, the state patrol arrested another driver suspected of being behind six shootings that occurred within hours of each other.
Indiana is also among the states where the number of roadside shootings has increased.
According to Indiana State Police Sgt. John Perrine, road rage-related shootings in Indiana have been on the rise for years.
In 2023, there were 56 shootings and 230 firearm reports on Indianapolis-area interstates. These numbers continue to rise in 2024, with 54 shootings and 300 firearm reports already recorded.
Incidents on roads across the country are not unique to gun violence.
Several shootings occurred on Interstate 5 in Washington state, resulting in injuries and property damage.
Pictured: Alex Bartell, 20, was on the phone to a friend when a rock crashed into her car and she went silent. Her friend tracked her phone and drove to the scene where she found her dead in her car, which had left the road and into a field.
In April, three Colorado teenagers accused of killing a 20-year-old woman by throwing a large rock through her windshield pleaded not guilty to her murder.
Alexa Bartell, 20, was killed when Joseph Koenig, Nicholas ‘Mitch’ Karol-Chik and Zachary Kwak, all 18, allegedly threw a landscaping rock at her car in Arvada, Colorado, on April 19, 2023.
Appearing in Jefferson County District Court on Monday, the teens pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder with extreme indifference; Koenig also faces four new charges of attempted murder and assault from another rock-throwing incident.
Prosecutors say the men threw giant rocks and crashed six other cars that night, but all other drivers were unharmed.
Bartell was on the phone with a friend when a rock crashed into her car and she went silent. Her friend tracked her phone and drove to the scene where she found her dead in her car, which had gone off the road and into a field.