A truck driver is charged with multiple counts of attempted murder after allegedly shooting at vehicles outside of a gas station in Bakersfield, California, last week.
The incident occurred around 9:30 a.m. on February 11 on Taft Highway at I-5 in Bakersfield.
Wisconsin-based OTR truck driver Kurt Sibila, 53, was reportedly on foot near a Chevron gas station when he opened fire with a handgun.
Bakersfield Now reports that Sibila pointed the gun at others on foot and fired at passing vehicles.
KGET reports that one of the vehicles Sibila shot at had two children inside.
The leg of one man was grazed by a bullet. No other injuries were reported.
The Kern County Sheriff’s Office and the California Highway Patrol were able to take Sibila into custody without further incident.
Sibila was issued six counts of attempted murder, a single count of child cruelty, and two counts of shooting at an occupied vehicle. His bond was set at $3.1 million.
He has pleaded not guilty to these charges and is due back in court on February 24.
When investigators searched Sibila’s semi truck, they discovered a 12-gauge shotgun, four boxes of 12-gauge ammunition, and several magazines containing .45 caliber ammunition.
Sibila told investigators that he opened fire because he believed that people were shooting at him. He also told police that he was an airborne Ranger and has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
An investigator said, “I explained to Sibila that we did not locate any shell casings besides the ones he fired and in the video surveillance no one was seen chasing him or shooting at him. Sibila became extremely upset over the incident. Sibila would go back and forth about being sorry about what he put people through and saying he was not crazy and people were shooting at him.”
Sibila has a YouTube channel documenting his experiences in the trucking industry. In the latest video on the channel posted on February 5, 2023, Sibila talks about the high psychological demands of driving a truck.
“It’s just constant stress, man. There’s probably very very few occupations in this world where you can literally go to bed and be in jail that night for your job,” he says. “It’s a constant stressful situation, man. You are tense all day.”