Shooter Targeting Vehicles On Highway 5 In Anna
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ANNA (CBSDFW.COM) - Police in Collin County are increasing patrols hoping to catch a shooter targeting drivers along Highway-5 with a high-powered rifle.
The area just south of County Road -423 and north of the Collin County Outer Loop is where police believe that shooter hid along a tree line firing at drivers headed toward Melissa.
It wasn't until he came back from lunch at a restaurant in Melissa that Doug Page noticed the pock mark on his driver side door. That's when he realized what he had heard something strange earlier on the drive from Anna.
"Just a loud crack that happened on the door. It was much louder than anything I'd heard hit my car before," Page said.
He soon learned from investigators he was not alone. Anna Police are looking into as many as four reports during the last few days. So far they believe all of the shootings happened Monday, but as more people discover damage they are increasing patrols along Highway-5 in case the shooter isn't finished.
"Until they either find out what's going on or these incidents stop, I'm probably going to avoid it," Page said.
Anna Police Lt. Jeff Caponera said since none of the rounds have penetrated the metal doors, he believes the shooter is likely using a high-powered pellet gun, not a firearm, but it's a weapon that can still do considerable damage.
"I've seen these pellet guns kill people, and this certainly could have been a tragedy had one of these drivers wrecked or had actually hit one of the drivers," Lt. Caponera.
When one woman driving southbound on Highway-5 heard the shot, she pulled over to find a dent above her door handle where the round hit. When she turned back north to report the shooting to police, a second shot shattered her back window. Some of the victims believe the suspect is a reckless kid, but investigators said they can't be certain who might be pulling the trigger.
"If there's an adult out there that's actually doing this... trying to cause damage and intentionally doing this, then it's something that everybody should be concerned about," Page said.
Investigators still don't have a motive in these cases. But when asked if this could have been someone shooting wildly who accidentally hit the vehicles, police said the shooter was clearly targeting them as they drove.
