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Two men fatally shoot each other in California road rage incident

Written by ABC Audio ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on July 30, 2024

(LOS ANGELES) — Two men are dead after they fatally shot one another in an apparent road rage incident in Southern California, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

One of the men had his two children in the car — ages 2 and 5 — at the time of the double shooting.

“It could’ve been so incredibly simple, but unfortunately we have two people who lost their lives instead,” Mara Rodriguez, spokesperson for the sheriff’s department, told Los Angeles ABC station KABC.

Jonathan McConnell, 38, who was driving a motorcycle, was involved in a hit-and-run traffic collision on the 210 Freeway with Aaron Harris, 37, who was driving a sedan, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

McConnell split lanes and collided with the sedan occupied by Harris and his two children, the sheriff’s department said.

Harris then followed McConnell off the freeway and into a parking lot. McConnell met several people known to him in the parking lot, according to the sheriff’s department.

Harris then stopped his vehicle and shouted threats at McConnell. When McConnell approached the vehicle, Harris fired a gun at him, authorities said.

McConnell then returned fire. Both men died after they were shot, the sheriff’s department said.

An unnamed adult male at the scene also received a non-fatal gunshot wound to his hand during the incident, the sheriff’s department said.

The children were unharmed in the exchange of gunfire, officials sad.

“We all get angry on the roads sometimes, especially these days there’s so much traffic out there and so many things going on,” Rodriguez told KABC. “But this is a great example of how things can go so wrong so quickly.”