Bradenton, Fla. (Newsradio WFLA) - A new state law voters passed last November will keep the cops from releasing the names of the two men involved in a road rage shooting Saturday that left one of them dead.
The Manatee County Sheriff's Office says that a 26-year-old man called 911 at about 5:15 p.m. to tell them he had shot another man after the second man had run him off of Buckeye Rd. near US-301. He told deputies that he drove east on Buckeye when the a vehicle swerving toward him in and out of the oncoming lane forced him to drive off the road. Both men pulled over and began to argue. The shooter told deputies that he pulled his gun after the other man came up to his window and leaned inside. The other man pulled his own gun and "leveled it at" the shooter, who fired his gun and killed the other man.
That's when the shooter called 911, according to a news release from the MCSO. The Sheriff's Office said in a later news release that it believes the shooting was "a justifiable act of self defense. Evidence collected and information gathered indicates the shooter was a victim of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon prior to the shooting."
"Names will be not released. Both are victims, and are requesting privacy under the Marsy’s law," the release said. Voters passed the amendment to the state constitution in November 2018 with 61 percent of the vote, just over the threshold it needed. Supporters call it a victim's rights law. Critics have said that it threatens to close the door on public access to government records by letting police agencies conceal information about crimes.