Man fires into car, hits child after gas station argument

Author: AP
Published:
Photo via CBS News.

Hillsborough County authorities were looking for a man they say shot at another vehicle Saturday, striking a child in the leg.

The suspect followed another customer after getting into an argument at a gas station, pulled up beside him and then shot into his vehicle, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said on its Facebook page.

The department didn’t release the age of the child but said the victim’s injuries were non-life-threatening.

It later identified the suspect as Jontavius Laquan Shaeron Monroe, 33, of Tampa. The sheriff’s office said Monroe has eight prior felony convictions. He is currently on probation, according to the Department of Corrections website.

Investigators were still searching for Monroe on Sunday. He faces charges of aggravated battery, attempted first-degree murder, discharging a firearm from a vehicle, shooting into a vehicle and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

“A verbal dispute between two grown men should never end with a child being shot, and I pray for the child’s quick recover,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister.

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