Driver shot AR-15 at fellow trucker as they drove, believing he was involved in conspiracy against him

A truck driver shot an AR-15 at a fellow trucker as he drove because he believed the man was involved in a conspiracy against him. 

The incident occurred on Monday, December 1st at around 8:30 a.m. near the Highway M exit on Interstate 55 near Barnhart, Missouri. 

According to Fox 2, 46-year-old truck driver Michel Quintana-Betancourt claims that the injured driver had been boxing him in and cutting him off in a construction zone just before the shooting. Quintana-Betancourt says that the victim struck his truck in the construction zone and was attempting to flee. Quintana-Betancourt says he believed the alleged aggressive driving was because the victim truck driver was involved in a conspiracy against him by a group that had threatened his family back in his home state of Florida. 

Because of these beliefs, Quintana-Betancourt fired an AR-15 style rifle at the victim driver as the two drove, striking the victim in the left leg. Investigators who viewed dash cam footage of the incident say that “there appeared to be no visible altercation between the drivers, and the victim seemed to be completely caught off guard by the shooting,” reported FirstAlert4.

The victim truck driver was taken to the hospital for treatment of his injuries. Those injuries were described as non life threatening. Quintana-Betancourt was arrested at the scene and is being held in the Jefferson County Jail without bond. He is facing charges of first-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon, and two counts of armed criminal action. No further information has been released.