AUSTIN, Texas — A 25-year-old man has been charged with second-degree aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after a road rage incident escalated into a shooting.
Michael Rivera is accused of shooting a woman five times in an incident that occurred just after 8 a.m. on April 24.
According to an affidavit obtained by KVUE, the victim was driving with a friend in a black Chevrolet Trax on Gemmer Street. The vehicle was dealing with a tire issue and traveling slowly in the right lane and a marginal shoulder.
Court documents state the car was then approached by a silver sedan that was traveling at the same speed in a parallel lane. The driver, identified as Rivera, swore at the victim as he drove alongside. The sedan continued to drive forward while the victim continued to drive slowly. As the two vehicles approached the intersection of FM 973 and Burleson Road, the victim noticed the sedan pulling into the left lane trying to make a left turn.
According to the affidavit, as the victim stopped, she noticed a flashlight, heard gunshots and quickly realized that she had been shot in the arm. The silver sedan took off to the left and the Chevrolet Trax accelerated through the intersection.
The victim discovered she had been shot five times: once in the left bicep, twice through her right forearm, twice through her left thigh and a graze wound to her shin below her right knee.
The passenger of the Chevrolet was the first to contact 911 and affirmed that she and the driver were on their way to replace a tire. She said she saw the driver and Rivera argue before seeing Rivera pull out a pistol and hearing the driver yell, "He shot me," and seeing blood everywhere.
The suspect told an Austin Police Department (APD) detective that he shot the victim in self-defense. The victim was found to have a gun in her vehicle but claimed that she did not wield or display it at any point. The passenger also affirmed that there was a gun in the vehicle, but it was hers and not the driver's, and that it remained in her bag the entire time.
An APD detective later located Rivera's vehicle, identified as a gray Cadillac, on Gemmer Street. The detective saw a loaded semi-automatic handgun in the front seat of the vehicle.
APD's Crime Scene Unit (CSU) processed the vehicle due to the presence of the suspect weapon and evidence.
Several items were seized from the vehicle, including the gun and seven spent cartridge cases.
