Man shot while driving in Sartell
The police radios crackled with an urgent call from County Road 120 in Sartell.
“Complainant says he got shot in the leg, going to see vehicle further…” said one transmission.
Police Chief Brandon Silgjord says he’s never seen a case like this before — a road rage incident that escalated into gunfire.
“Just the fact that we have two moving vehicles with one shooting at the other is extremely rare for us to happen,” the chief explained.
Authorities say the incident began around 2 a.m. Sunday.
Investigators say 24-year-old Jakob Mohr, of Waite Park, began tailing another driver and his female passenger along northbound Highway 15 in St. Cloud, and using aggressive maneuvers to stay close behind.
Police believe Mohr targeted the victim due to “tensions involving a mutual friend.”
“Still investigating, suspect is going to be in a red Impala, complainant is going to be in a Dodge truck,” according to one radio call.
Silgjord says the first driver turned onto County Road 120 to get away.
Instead, he says, Mohr began closing in, pulled alongside the other vehicle, and opened fire, as many as four shots.
Police believe the victim, wounded in the leg, called 911 as Mohr drove off.
“Initially, he saw his windshield had broken, which was his first indication that he was being shot at,” Silgjord explains. “Then, heard a couple of more shots, essentially was hit once as well.”
Police found Mohr’s car outside a bar in Sauk Rapids.
He turned himself in to the authorities late Sunday morning.
Silgjord says Mohr is now in the Stearns County Jail, pending second-degree assault charges.
After everything that’s happened, we wondered what experts say about incidents like this.
“Unfortunately, aggressive driving is not an uncommon issue,” explains Brynna Knapp, with AAA. “So, the more that drivers encounter hostility on the road or see other people engaging in these types of aggressive behaviors, the more likely they too, are responding in kind and escalate tensions.”
Knapp says the auto club did a nationwide poll of 3,000 licensed drivers.
The study found that 96% of those polled admitted to engaging in aggressive behavior on the roads.
Her advice?
“If they’re tailgating you, let them pass,” Knapp notes. “Keep your distance, so that you can kind of get away from their aggressive driving behavior.”
Experts say the best way to stay safe in these incidents is to keep calm, slow down, and give other drivers space.
Authorities say the wounded man is now recovering at the hospital.
Silgjord calls the incident a cautionary tale.
“These road rage-type incidents, these are scary, and it’s a good time to remind people to create distance and don’t antagonize,” he says. “Your job there is to de-escalate the situation if you can, stay on main roadways. Try to get to a public area, and never go home, never go down a dead-end road.”
