FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – A Palm Coast man was arrested Monday after he had allegedly pointed a handgun at another driver in a road rage incident, according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
Bryant Stanley, 50, had also nearly ran the driver off State Road 100 before pointing the gun at them through his passenger-side window, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Stanley’s vehicle was located in the area of Palm Coast and Cypress Point parkways, where deputies said they conducted a high-risk traffic stop. Calling to Stanley with their guns drawn, deputies said they took him into custody without incident, also seen on video of the arrest provided by the sheriff’s office.
In the video, a deputy can be seen handling a gun recovered from the vehicle that Stanley was driving, telling someone out of frame that there was at least one bullet in the weapon.
“There it is right there, next to the e-brake,” the deputy said before racking the slide. “There’s one in the tube.”
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Both the victim and a witness reportedly arrived at the scene of the arrest to positively identify Stanley, deputies said.
Stanley faces a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill and has since posted a $50,000 bond, released from jail Tuesday morning, booking records show.
Sheriff’s office officials said they’ve recently seen a big uptick in road rage incidents like this, especially on busy roads. They’re asking all drivers to stay extremely vigilant right now.
“Sometimes the best action is to not take an action. Just take a step back,” Commander Fredrick Gimbel said.
The latest research from advocacy group Everytown shows road rage injuries and deaths doubled in the U.S. from 2018 to 2022.
Gimbel said on top of road rage, they’re also seeing that kind of increase in reckless driving. He said the safest way to react in these situations is by getting the best description you can of the car — especially if you can safely get the tag number — and calling law enforcement.
“It’s not always the best practice to confront somebody or anything like that because what you perceive and what they perceive are two different perceptions,” he said.
See the video of Stanley’s arrest by clicking here.
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