SUV riddled with bullets after Mims road-rage shooting; 2 arrested, deputies say

2 men arrested in alleged road rage shooting

Two Brevard County men were arrested Saturday night after allegedly firing several rounds into an SUV in Brevard County, which had a family, including three children, inside of it, according to the Volusia Sheriff's Office (VSO). Investigators said the shooting appears to have stemmed from a road rage situation.

According to VSO, deputies responded to the area of State Road 46 in Mims, Florida, around 6:45 p.m. on Saturday. The victims told deputies that they were traveling eastbound on State Road 46 when a black Dodge pickup began tailgating them, VSO said in a Facebook post.

"The truck ultimately passed them, forced them halfway off the road, cut them off, and came to a stop in front of them. Two men got out of the truck and fired several shots at the victims’ vehicle," VSO.

VSO said deputies counted at least nine bullet holes in the vehicle. The front passenger window was also shattered, VSO said. Remarkably, no one was hurt or killed in the shooting, officials said.

The couple had their three children in the back seat at the time of the shooting – an 18-month-old, four-year-old, and six-year-old, VSO said.

After the alleged shooting, the suspects got back in the truck and drove away. The victims called 911, and Brevard County deputies found the vehicle a short time later.

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Authorities arrested Chad Morrow, 45, of Cocoa, and Chad McAninch, 52, of Port St. John. Both were booked into jail on two counts of attempted murder and three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

"You're talking road rage here -- kids in the car, nine shots into the windshield? How nobody's dead? God was smiling down on somebody," said Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood.

On Sunday, deputies said they located a gun believed to be connected to the alleged road rage shooting.

The Volusia County Sheriff's Office posted a picture of the alleged weapon. They are crediting Brevard County's Game Over Task Force with finding it.

"You have to assume, at all costs, when you’re involved in these road rage incidents, that somebody is armed," Sheriff Chitwood added. "Everyone has got a gun. You have got to be thinking of things."

According to online jail records, Morrow and McAninch were held on no bond. The two were expected to appear before a Volusia County judge on Tuesday, as Monday was a holiday.