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Inset: Bryan Arceo (San Antonio Police Department). Background: The bullet hole that Bryan Arceo allegedly put in a family’s minivan when he shot a 10-year-old girl in San Antonio, Texas, who was on her way to school (KSAT/YouTube).
In a shocking incident of road rage in Texas, a 10-year-old girl was critically injured while on her way to school. The young girl was traveling with her parents when an enraged driver, upset over her mother’s honking, opened fire on their vehicle. The girl sustained life-threatening injuries and required emergency surgery, according to police and her family.
The suspect, identified as 41-year-old Bryan Arceo, allegedly used a 9 mm handgun in the attack. The confrontation occurred after Arceo aggressively backed out of a driveway and was honked at by the girl’s mother. Arceo then reportedly pursued the family’s minivan and fired shots after pulling up beside them at a red light in San Antonio on Friday morning, as detailed in an arrest affidavit highlighted by ABC affiliate KSAT.
During this alarming episode, Arceo was accompanied by his ex-wife and daughter, who were also en route to drop off their child at school, according to police reports.
The San Antonio Police Department further elaborated on the incident in a Facebook post, stating, “Arceo backed out of a driveway aggressively, and another driver honked at the suspect. In response, [Arceo] fired his gun towards the victim’s vehicle, striking the girl in the back seat.”
Following the shooting, Arceo fled the scene but was later located and arrested by the San Antonio Police Department.
The 10-year-old victim was sent to a local hospital “with life-threatening injuries” and she underwent surgery, her family reports. The girl’s dad, Jason Gates, spoke to KSAT about what allegedly happened leading up to the shooting and afterward.
“My wife was on her horn, but she was on her horn no more than three seconds,” Gates explained.
Arceo’s ex-wife spoke to police and said “she looked away and heard a pop” after he pointed his 9 mm at the family’s van, according to the affidavit. She allegedly told cops he also racked the slide before firing.
“My wife looks at my daughter and says, ‘Hey, did you get shot?’” Gates recounted. “My daughter says, ‘No,’ then I opened the door a little bit.”
Gates said he and his wife noticed that their daughter had been shot and they quickly notified authorities. “I kept telling my wife, ‘Babe, you need to pull over,’” Gates recalled.
Arceo, meanwhile, kept driving and dropped his ex-wife off at her workplace and then took his child to a nearby school, according to police. He was booked at the Bexar County Adult Detention Center after being taken into custody and charged with aggravated assault for recklessly discharging a firearm and child endangerment.
“I told my wife, I said, ‘What are we going to do with a bullet hole in the side of the car?’” Gates said. “She goes, ‘I don’t want the car anymore.’”
The couple’s daughter is expected to survive after undergoing surgery.
“She’s doing great,” Gates told KSAT.
Arceo is scheduled to appear in court on April 30 after being granted a $375,000 bond.