Girl, 10, shot in stomach in road rage attack after her mother tried to warn shooter about accident, police say
A drive to school turned into a terrifying road rage incident when a Texas man allegedly opened fire on a family’s vehicle – striking a 10-year-old girl in the stomach, police say.
Bryan Arceo, 41, is accused of firing a handgun at a family minivan near Timberhill Drive and Wurzbach Road in San Antonio on Friday, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by WKRC.
The bullet pierced the side of the van and struck Alisa Gates, who was in the back seat. She was rushed to the hospital and underwent surgery, her family said. Her parents were not injured.
Arceo allegedly fired the shot from his gray Nissan Murano when Alisa’s mother honked her horn to warn him about a traffic collision after he backed out of his driveway, San Antonio police say.
It happened as the family was on their way to drop Alisa off at school.
“My wife was on the horn, but she was on the horn no more than three seconds,” Alisa’s father, Jason Gates, told KSAT.
According to the affidavit, Arceo brake-checked the family’s van before pulling alongside them at a red light, where the mother told police he pointed a handgun at their vehicle.
A bullet pierced the back door of the van, right next to the seat where Alisa was sitting. Then her parents smelled gunpowder and then discovered she had been shot.
They initially told investigators Arceo appeared to be alone in the front seat. However, the affidavit states Arceo’s ex-wife was also in the car and witnessed the shooting.
“She (Arceo’s ex-wife) looked away and heard a pop,” the affidavit states.
She told police she saw Arceo point the gun at the family’s van and rack the slide before firing. She also confirmed he carries a silver and black handgun. Officers later recovered a live 9mm round at the scene.
Surveillance footage also shows him dropping off his ex-wife at work and a child at a nearby school shortly after the incident.
Arceo is facing three counts of aggravated assault for recklessly discharging a firearm, first-degree felonies, and count of child endangerment.
He was taken into custody Friday and booked into the Bexar County Adult Detention Center.
