'Cat and mouse game': Dads SHOOT each other’s daughters aged 5 and 14 in road rage incident
NASSAU COUNTY, FLORIDA: Two fathers were arrested after shooting each other's young daughters during a road rage incident described by onlookers as "cat and mouse game." William Joseph Hale and Frank Gilliard Allison were taken into custody Saturday, Oct 8, and charged with attempted second-degree murder.
At a press conference on Monday, Oct 10, Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper called the men's behavior "stupid" and "crazy." The incident occurred Oct 8 after 6.pm on US Highway 1. Bill said several calls came in to 911 reporting that "people being shot," Leeper said.
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A witness allegedly told authorities that the 35-year-old Hale was driving a black Dodge Ram with five people inside while the 43-year-old Allison was driving a gray Nissan Murano with three occupants.
As per Law and Crime, Leeper said a witness dialled 911 because both cars were driving in a strange manner that the witness knew something bad was going to happen. He added that the authorities were able to determine that both Hale and Allison were “speeding, driving erratically, and brake-checking each other."
“At some point during the encounter, the driver of the Dodge Ram [Hale] got up alongside the Nissan and began shouting at the driver of the Nissan [Allison] to pull over. The right front passenger of the Nissan put her hand out the window and flipped the other vehicle off with her middle finger. The Nissan driver, Allison, rolled his window down to shout back at the other driver, and a plastic water bottle was thrown from the Dodge Ram into the Nissan,” Leeper said.
Bill continued, “The driver of the Nissan [Allison] then grabbed his Sig Saur 45-caliber automatic handgun and fired one shot at the other truck before driving away at a high rate of speed.” The bullet went into the right rear passenger door of the Dodge Ram and hit Hale’s 5-year-old daughter in the leg. After seeing the Nissan speed away, Hale realized his daughter had been shot and sped after the other vehicle.
After catching up to the Nissan, Bill said that Hale used a Glock 9mm semi-automatic handgun and began firing with his left hand out the driver’s side window. At least three bullets struck the Nissan, with one hitting Allison’s 14-year-old daughter in the back, causing a collapsed lung.
After the second child was shot, both the cars spotted an NCSO patrol car and pulled over. The two men began arguing and then fought until the deputy broke up the scuffle. Both girls were taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening wounds by Fire and Rescue units. The accused were both booked into the Nassau County Jail.
Bill added, “What is scarier than one crazy driver with a gun? Two crazy drivers with a gun. Thankfully, no one was killed in this incident. But it could have been very easily turned out that way because two people were acting stupid and let their tempers get the best of them. There could have been two dead kids because of two stupid grown men.”