Man accused of pointing rifle at driver during Buckeye road-rage incident

BUCKEYE, Ariz. – Police say a man who pointed a rifle at another driver during a road-rage incident in Buckeye has been arrested.

What we know:

At around 1 p.m. on March 10, a woman reported to Buckeye Police that she was in a parking lot near Watson Road and Sundance Avenue when a man driving a Jeep Gladiator backed out of a parking spot, almost hitting her car.

“After she honked her horn, the victim reported, the suspect got out of the Jeep, grabbed an AR-15 style rifle from his back seat and pointed it at her,” police said. “The victim drove away and called 911.”

Investigators say a license plate reader helped them identify the suspect as 32-year-old Erik French, who was found in a shopping plaza across the street from where the alleged road-rage incident happened.

French was arrested and booked into jail. He’s accused of disorderly conduct with a weapon.

What you can do:

Police say if you are involved in a road-rage incident, you should call 911.

“Buckeye police encourage you to do exactly what this victim did by leaving the area, getting to a safe place and immediately calling 911,” the department said. “Because of her actions, no one was hurt and officers were able to make a swift arrest.”

Map of where the alleged incident happened: