WATCH: Newport News man Eugene Trujillo arrested as video of him pointing a gun at woman on I-64 surfaces online

Following a Sunday morning encounter in Newport News on Interstate 64, a 58-year-old driver, now identified as Eugene Trujillo, was detained and charged with multiple offenses, according to Virginia State Police. This occurred after Trujillo was seen waving a gun at a female driver on a highway in Virginia in a now viral video.

On Sunday, September 10, 2023, in Newport News, at about 10:45 am, the female victim called the police to say that a driver on I-64 had pointed a gun at her.

Police claimed that when the victim was entering I-64 East in Newport News, another vehicle, a 2011 red Chevrolet Camaro, attempted to do the same, which resulted in an argument between the two drivers.

According to Tishawna Banks, the female driver who was on the receiving end of the gun, she was traveling eastbound on Interstate 64 in Newport News when the incident occurred. Before he began brake-checking her through traffic, she and the driver reportedly got into a disagreement over who should merge first on the road.

She claimed that it occurred four to five times as "[he] tried to get me to smack into his vehicle."

She claimed that following the altercation on the road, she pulled out her phone and begin filming what would happen next, when she suddenly noticed a gun sticking out of the driver's side of the red Chevrolet Camaro.

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Virginia State Police has managed to arrest Newport News man Eugene Trujillo

Tishawna Banks reported the entire incident (Image via Facebook / Tishawna Banks)

After being caught on tape reportedly pointing a gun at another car on Interstate 64, Virginia State Police arrested the accused.

According to WTVR CBS 6 News and other sources reporting the entire incident, a Virginia State Police spokesperson summed up the incident in an email:

"A female victim was attempting to enter Interstate 64, eastbound, in the city of Newport News, Virginia [on Sunday, September 10, 2023, at approximately 10:40 a.m.]. In an attempt to change lanes, another vehicle, a 2011 Chevrolet Camaro was also attempting to enter the interstate and an exchange was had between both drivers."

When the other Newport News driver drew up next to the Camaro, according to authorities, Eugene Timothy Trujillo, the driver with the weapon, pulled up and pointed a gun at her. The email continued:

"Trujillo pulled off and the victim soon observed a trooper in the median crossover, pulled over, and reported the incident."

The victim, Tishawna Banks, filmed the entire incident and posted the video on her Facebook account, which now has been shared multiple times.

Authorities initiated an investigation after the victim reported the event. They eventually identified Trujillo, and later filed charges against him for waving a handgun, assault, reckless driving, and reckless driving while using a firearm, as per 13NewsNow.

Without a bond, Trujillo was imprisoned. Moreover, the police also requested anyone with information to contact them by phone at (757) 424-6800 or via email at [email protected].

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Road rage and gun violence are on the rise in America

The numbers of aggressive drivers with guns are rising (Image via Associated Press)

Injuries and fatalities from road rage shootings are still on the rise in America. On the road, aggressive driving is a typical occurrence. A gun, however, can make such an interaction deadly for the drivers, the passengers, and the pedestrians, turning it from a brief uncomfortable encounter to a dangerous catastrophe. Additionally, having a pistol in the car may make road rage more likely.

According to the data provided by the Supreme court of the United States, in road rage shooting occurrences between 2016 and 2019, there were about 22 individuals shot and killed or injured per month.

2020 saw an increase to 34. It increased even more in 2021, reaching 44 gun deaths and injuries from road rage events in a typical month. In the same time frame, there was an increase in the proportion of road rage episodes that ended in gun injury or death.