Shooting on Northbound I-95 under investigation
FORT LAUDERDALE - On Wednesday night, a shooting on I95 North, between Sunrise and Broward Boulevard, sent a man to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
In 2022, Florida Highway Patrol investigated 50 shootings on highways and interstates in Broward and Miami-Dade County. Reyes says some shootings go beyond road rage and aggressive drivers.
"As we've known in the last couple of years, we've seen an uptick in highway violence," said FHP Major Roger Reyes.
"A major factor of targeted hits," explained Reyes.
Reyes explains the motive behind them taking place on the interstate.
"Evidence is going to get destroyed," shared Reyes. "People are going to get away. Hard to witness the speeds people can take to get away and cannot be tracked."
We traveled off the highway to visit Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis. He points to state and national political discourse as contributing to gun violence.
"What is going is all the tension and antagonism, hatred and trying to denigrate one group, show indifference to others, raises the level in any community to say it's ok to act violently," said Trantalis.
He believes community engagement from city leadership and police remain vital to bringing people together.
"Listen to their expectations and see how we can help each neighborhood," said Trantalis.
FHP partners with local law enforcement to increase highway public safety efforts.
"We are trying to eliminate and curb the problem with increased visibility and patrols," added Reyes.
Here's a safety tip from FHP if you are in a confrontation on the road. Create distance and back away from the aggressor, and if it's safe, get off the highway to call 911. The key thing is to refrain from engaging and escalating conflict.
A national report shows it's a growing problem. Road rage shooting deaths have more than doubled over the last four years, according to Everytown for Gun Safety.
And on top of that, local law enforcement says shootings on highways and interstates are rising in South Florida. Florida Highway Patrol describes a nationwide epidemic on the roads.
