Pickup truck driver chased 3 while firing shotgun and spewing slurs, Florida cops say

A man in a pickup truck chased three people while firing a shotgun at them and “spewing racial slurs,” a sheriff’s office in Florida said.

Three “frantic” people, including two juveniles, called police in Punta Gorda on the evening of Nov. 17 and said they were being chased by a man in a red pickup truck who was firing a shotgun at them, according to a news release from the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office.

The three were at first approached by the man when he got out of his truck with the shotgun and started “spewing vulgarities” at them, the release say. The group drove off into oncoming traffic to try to get away from the man, but he followed them.

“Terrified for their lives, the victims heard four rounds fired off and continued toward Arcadia,” a city about 25 miles northeast of Punta Gorda, the release says.

They continued driving, all while on the phone with authorities, until they couldn’t see the pickup truck driver any more and met up with law enforcement, according to the sheriff’s office.

Deputies searched the area and found the red pickup parked in a neighborhood. When deputies told him to show his hands, the driver, later identified as 44-year-old Steven Whitney, put the truck in reverse and started to drive away, the release says.

Whitney drove for less than two minutes before pulling into a property, getting out of the vehicle and running toward a camper, according to the sheriff’s office.

Deputies were eventually able to arrest Whitney, and when they searched him, they found an “unspent 12-gauge shotgun shell” in one of his pockets, the release says. Investigators later searched his truck and property and found “a black, 12-gauge, pump-style shotgun; ammunition; spent handgun casings; and clothing that (matched) the description by the victims,” the release says.

Whitney faces multiple charges, including driving under the influence, fleeing to elude, resisting, discharge of a firearm in public and three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to the sheriff’s office.

Punta Gorda is about 100 miles south of Tampa.

Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell said in a statement that he was proud of the 911 dispatchers and deputies that aided in catching Whitney and extended that thanks to the victims as well.

“These young people showed courage in the face of a frightening and vile encounter and now Steven Whitney is back where he belongs,” the statement says.

This story was originally published November 18, 2022 at 2:17 PM with the headline "Pickup truck driver chased 3 while firing shotgun and spewing slurs, Florida cops say."