Words were exchanged and bullets were flying during a recent road-rage incident in Gwinnett County.
Two drivers were heading along Rockbridge Road near Jimmy Carter Boulevard in Lilburn on Thursday when one of them tried to move into the other’s lane, according to a Lilburn police report.
The victim, who asked that his name not be used, told police he had the right of way when the driver of a Toyota Rav 4 tried to enter his lane.
When the victim didn’t let in the driver, John Armitage pulled into the lane next to him and pulled a gun, according to the report.
“My first thought was: ‘What is this guy doing? Trying to scare me?’” the victim told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I didn’t know what he was going to do.”
Armitage is accused of exchanging words, making hand gestures and following the victim to his neighborhood, about 20 minutes away from where the initial altercation occurred.
When they got to the area, Armitage allegedly further threatened the victim.
“He said, ‘I’m going to shoot you in the face,’ about four or five times,” the victim said, “and I said: ‘No, you’re not.’”
But Armitage, according to the report, didn’t give up.
He allegedly dragged his pistol on the side of the man’s car, fired a few shots and continued to drag it, police said. The victim then pulled his own gun and fired back.
“All I could think about was this guy is not going to get away with it,” he said. “It was just second nature to call the police. I had my pistol with me for personal protection and as he proceeded to run me over I fired a shot.”
Armitage drove off, but the victim was able to get a tag number. Armitage was later arrested by Lilburn police and taken to the Gwinnett County jail.
He faces aggravated assault and criminal trespass charges, according to jail records.
The victim told The AJC his firearm training classes came through for him.
“This is why I conceal carry,” he said. “People would say I didn’t need it, but I say: ‘Yes, I do.’”
The victim said he was glad he was alone in the car: “If my 8-year-old son had been sitting there, he would have been shot in the head.”
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