A man in his 20s driving a Nissan Maxima brandished a handgun at another car in Palo Alto Sunday, Nov. 9, and then continued his road rage by following the car into the Stanford Shopping Center parking lot and cussing at the driver and passenger, Palo Alto police are reporting.
No one was injured in the 11:30 a.m. incident. The aggressor remains at large.
The victims, a father and son, told police they were driving north on El Camino Real from University Avenue when they noticed the Maxima tailgating them and driving erratically.
The son, who was in his 20s and in the front passenger seat, said they turned left into the parking lot and the Nissan followed. When the son turned around to look at the Maxima driver, he saw the driver waving a black semi-automatic handgun, the police stated in a press release.
The Maxima followed their car to north side of the shopping center, and when the father and son’s car stopped ta a stop sign, the Nissan pulled around in front and the irate man got out of his car and approached the pair. The handgun wasn’t visible, police said.
As the Maxima driver began cussing at the son, the father put their car in reverse and drove away, police said. The son last saw the Nissan headed towards Sand Hill Road.
The son described the Maxima driver as Hispanic, about 25 years old, 5 feet 7 inches tall and with a thin build. He was unshaven and had shoulder-length curly hair, police said. He was wearing blue jeans and a white T-shirt. The Maxima was a gold, late-1990s model.
The son said he had no prior interactions with the man and did not know why the man had targeted him.
Police are asking that anyone with information about this incident call the 24-hour police dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be emailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voicemail to 650-383-8984. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through the department’s free mobile app, downloadable at bit.ly/PAPD-AppStore or bit.ly/PAPD-GooglePlay.
By Palo Alto Weekly staff
By Palo Alto Weekly staff
By Palo Alto Weekly staff
Wouldn’t “cursing” be a better word in this circumstance?
“Cussing” seems so .. well, you know .. so “Arkansas” ..
That’s scary. A shame that the description fits a huge population. Usually road rage is provoked, so maybe the driver did something he was unaware of. Good thing no one got physically hurt.