It was Eric Popper himself, the man who appears in a shocking video, who gave the footage to the police and said he was ready to cooperate with the investigation.
Popper recalls leaving for work as he did every morning and driving on Interstate 95 when, according to the report, he changed lanes in front of another vehicle.
He alleges that he had turned on his turn signal, but the second car sped away. He approached his bumper and began to honk.
Popper pressed the brake twice. He said that, to give him a warning, not to come any closer, and he immediately sped up.
“I realized that I wasn’t going to stop. I was still furious and became very nervous. I saw that he had his arm out of the window and that he was making movements. For my safety, I decided to take my gun out of the car safe. I thought he was pointing a gun at my vehicle to kill me. I was scared for my life and when I heard a gunshot I fought back.”
There were 11 shots fired until the magazine was emptied, around 7 a.m. on June 21, 2021. The other driver told police he did not have a weapon, but rather threw a bottle of water. But the photos show gunshot marks on both cars. Popper was charged with aggravated assault with a firearm and firing a deadly weapon, but those charges were just dismissed.
As his lawyer explained, his client’s actions were justified and reasonable in terms of your fundamental right. He feared for his life and the prosecution agreed.
Popper acknowledges he shouldn’t have braked to stop the other driver from following him, but says he doesn’t regret protecting himself like he did. “I would have done it again if I felt the same because it’s a life or death situation, but I’m definitely going to be more aware.”