Local
Three Arrested After Pellet Gun Shatters Windows in Worcester-to-Paxton Road Rage Chase
A road rage confrontation that began on Route 122 in Worcester ended in the Paxton Public Safety Complex parking lot Wednesday morning, where police arrested three people accused of firing a pellet gun into another driver's car and shattering several windows. No one was injured, and police say the incident was isolated.
PAXTON, Mass. â Three people were arrested Wednesday morning after a road rage confrontation that began in Worcester escalated into a pellet-gun attack on another driver's car and ended in the parking lot of the Paxton Public Safety Complex, according to Paxton police.
The episode started just after 9 a.m. on Route 122 in Worcester, where a driver called 911 to report that their vehicle had been shot at and that they were being followed. The caller kept driving roughly two miles into neighboring Paxton and pulled into the public safety complex, with the other car trailing them into the lot before attempting to turn around.
Paxton officers stopped the suspects' vehicle at the entrance and detained three people. Investigators determined that the caller's car had been struck by a pellet gun, shattering several windows. No one was hurt.
Carla Lopez-Reyes, 44, Raquel Lozada-Vega, 46, and Roberto Carlos Crespo, 40, were each charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and maliciously vandalizing or defacing property. Lozada-Vega also faces an additional drug possession charge.
Police initially believed a firearm had been used, but no shell casings were found and the weapon was later identified as a pellet gun.
"There's no concern for the general public. This was an isolated incident," said Sgt. Elise Miranda of the Worcester Police Department. "I think there were a lot of different mixed messages coming over that were pretty scary at first. It started out really big and frightening, and dialed down pretty quick."
Forrest Smith, who witnessed the aftermath, described a heavy response along the street. "We saw several cruisers drive by. Probably 15 minutes after that we had state police cruisers, we had local police cruisers, we had Worcester police cruisers on the street. We had several officers with a police dog searching up and down the street," Smith said.
Video from the scene showed a car stopped near the complex with its rear windshield shattered.
The quick resolution stood in contrast to the alarm the chase initially caused. Paxton borders Worcester in central Massachusetts, and the public safety complex sits just over two miles from Pleasant Street in Worcester, where the confrontation began. The case remains under investigation, and the three suspects are expected to face the charges in court.