Police arrested a man in Flower Mound after he allegedly shot at a vehicle during a fit of road rage in Grapevine on Thursday night, injuring a child.
The Grapevine Police Department arrested John Schwoyer, 59, according to a statement from Media Manager Amanda McNew. He allegedly fired shots into a truck carrying three children, and the shattered glass injured a young boy.
Shwoyer faces a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and was in the Grapevine Detention Center as of the morning of July 11.
A man in a pickup truck called 911 close to 8 p.m. on July 10, saying “another driver had shot into his pickup,” per the statement. He was traveling north on SH-121 near Bass Pro Drive at the time. His family, including three children, was in the vehicle, and the shattered glass injured his 7-year-old son.
The driver shot back, “in self-defense,” and began following the suspect while informing the police about the suspect and the vehicle’s description. He pulled over at a gas station to check on his family’s safety. The suspect’s car, a silver Infiniti, headed north on FM-2499 into Flower Mound.
Police identified the car’s registered owner, who lived on Big Canyon Drive in Flower Mound. Officers called the suspect, but he “disconnected the phone and refused to speak further with officers.”
Grapevine police collaborated with the Flower Mound Police Department and established a perimeter outside the suspect’s home. According to Flower Mound police, officers made “contact with the suspect,” who was alone inside.
“There is a large police presence in the area, but there is no immediate threat to the public at this time,” the department posted to Facebook at the time.
Grapevine detectives, drone operators, and members of the Northeast Tarrant County Area SWAT Team encouraged the suspect to “come outside peacefully,” according to the statement from McNew. He came out close to 2:15 a.m., where he was immediately arrested.
Medics examined him as a “precaution” and cleared him. Police brought him to the Grapevine Detention Center.
After the shooting, the driver’s injured child went to the hospital for “further treatment.” The broken glass also gave an adult passenger “minor injuries,” which were treated at the scene. The two other children were uninjured.
The Dallas Police Department recently cracked down on road rage, issuing 387 citations in a single day, as reported by The Dallas Express. The DFW area saw multiple violent road rage incidents last year.
McNew said in the statement that this case was an “excellent show of teamwork” between members of law enforcement, thanking the Grapevine Fire Department, Flower Mound Police and Fire, and the Tarrant SWAT team for their assistance.