Suspect shot motorist in head as woman yells ‘stop’ because kids are in car, warrant says
A road rage suspect fired at a motorist on Interstate 20 in Arlington in October as the victim’s wife yelled for him to stop because their kids were in the car, according to an arrest warrant.
After the shooting, 29-year-old Andrew Cantu got back in his white BMW and drove home, the warrant states.
Cantu quit his job just days after the shooting and later drove his car to Houston, where his mother sold it for him, according to the warrant obtained Wednesday by the Star-Telegram. He then traveled to Mexico, telling relatives he went there to visit his father.
Cantu surrendered to Arlington police on Tuesday, ending a four-month search for the suspect.
Cantu was in the Arlington Jail Wednesday facing charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in the Oct. 22 shooting.
Arlington police said the 33-year-old victim was driving southbound on Texas 360 when he attempted to merge onto the westbound lanes of Interstate 20 just after 8 p.m. on Oct. 22. As he began driving in the right-hand lane, the suspect’s vehicle sideswiped him as it passed the victim on the outside shoulder.
Cantu is accused of firing a shot toward the motorist, grazing his head, after the man pulled over to exchange insurance information, police said.
Within days after the shooting, Arlington detectives received anonymous tips identifying Cantu as the suspect, according to the warrant.
By Oct. 26, Cantu, having quit his job two days earlier, called his wife and told her that he was in Mexico because his father had been deported. Another family member also told Arlington police about seeing Cantu in Mexico about that time.
Arlington detectives were contacted last week by Cantu’s attorney that he wanted to surrender.
This story was originally published March 20, 2019 at 11:52 AM with the headline "Suspect shot motorist in head as woman yells ‘stop’ because kids are in car, warrant says."
