Family Of Road Rage Victim Describes Incident
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - The 83-year-old man who police say pulled out a gun in a road rage incident is being held on no bond.
CBS4's Cynthia Demos spoke with his neighbors and the family of the victim who was allegedly shot at.
The family says the victim came to South Florida three years ago from Cuba and was on his way to work as a valet at a hotel on Miami Beach.
Carlos Montero said his brother-in-law Miguel Garcia was shot at; police say the shot was fired by 83-year-old Mario Perez-Tano.
Perez-Tano made his first bond court appearance over the weekend.
When Demos asked, "So, what did you think…were you surprised?" Montero replied, "it's Miami."
Carlos said his family was frightened but everyone is just fine. Miguel was not interested in talking about the ordeal that happened Friday during the day at Northwest 12 Avenue and Northwest 7 Street.
Montero said that his brother-in-law pulled out into the street after getting a tire changed. He got around a bus and then was trying to get in front of the bus and right behind Perez-Tano's red Volkswagen Bug but the 83-year-old didn't move. Garcia tapped the back of Perez-Tano's car with his bumper. Then when Garcia realized Perez-Tano wasn't moving, he backed up to drive around him. That's when Perez-Tano, after getting tapped on his back bumper, jumped out of the car with a gun and started shooting.
"When he came back, the old man had a gun in the hand and that's when Miguel took off," Montero said.
Garcia didn't get far because the bridge over the Miami River was up. Police arrived and arrested Perez-Tano and charged him with attempted murder.
"Mario is a nice person," said Emilia Lopez, Mario's neighbor.
Perez-Tano's neighbors describe him as a little old man. He has a cross mounted on his apartment door. The apartment manager said two weeks ago, someone broke into his convertible red bug and she said he thought someone was after him and was scared and thinks maybe that's why he reacted the way he did.
The victim's brother-in-law said if there is any lesson to this, it's that if you have a gun and get scared or nervous or mad, you may actually use it.
Neighbors say Perez-Tano has no family here to bond him out--if a bond is ever set.
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