Road rage is a serious problem. Late last week, a Florida state agency spokesman was killed after pulling a gun on another driver in a Toyota Prius. He was shot and killed by the Prius driver in front of a convenience store in Tallahassee, FL. 

Florida Republican official shot and killed in Florida

According to the Tampa Bay Times, John Kuczwanski, who was the director of external affairs for Florida’s State Board of Administration, was killed in a shooting outside a convenience store last Thursday.

Reports claim that the gunfight started after Kuczwanski’s BMW drifted from its lane and hit a white Toyota Prius. Both cars then pulled into the nearest Circle K parking lot, where things began to heat up. 

According to the Daily KOS, anonymous sources said that the man driving the Toyota Prius got out of his car and “confronted Kuczwanski about hitting him,” then returned to his car to wait for law enforcement’s arrival. At this point, Kuczwanski reportedly rammed his BMW into the Prius’ driver-side door and “began pushing the car sideways in the parking lot.” 

Did John Kuczwanski shoot at the Toyota Prius first? 

The same anonymous sources say after Kuczwanski rammed the other man’s Prius, he then got out of his BMW and began to shoot at the Prius (assuming he meant to hit the man inside of it.) Reports say that once Kuczwanski began shooting, the Prius driver returned fire with a shot through the windshield that would prove to be fatal. 

After returning fire, the Prius driver slipped out the door and took cover, awaiting more fire from the politician. 

Who is John Kuczwanski? 

The alleged aggressor in this senseless road rage violence was the Republican spokesperson for the Florida State Board of Administration (SBA). The Tallahassee Democrat questioned Director of Special Projects Dennis Mackee about his colleague, to which Mackee claimed he could not confirm that the man killed in the road rage shootout was Kuczwanski but said that “He was a quiet fellow. Everything in his world was about his family.” 

Following this series of aggressive yet unfortunate events, Kuczwanski’s wife Tweeted, calling her husband’s death an “assassination,” though based on all available evidence, appears to be demonstrably false. 

In fact, the late politician had a similar run-in for which he was arrested at the same intersection eight years ago. 

According to WCTV:

“Arrest papers show a driver complained that a man in a red F150 pick up pointed a gun with a laser sight at him while the two were at the intersection of Thomasville and Bannerman Roads.

According to arrest papers, the driver gave deputies the tag number, and when they arrived at Kuczwanski’s home just a few miles away, he told deputies the other car had cut him off in traffic.

Arrest papers also say deputies found a gun matching the driver’s description in the console of Koczwanski’s car and arrested him for aggravated assault with a firearm.”

Following this arrest, Kuczwanski was on probation until 2018. 

An apparent gun enthusiast, Kuczwanski’s last tweet was December, 9th where he wrote about hopefully winning a raffle for a new gun. 

Was the Toyota Prius driver charged? 

The Leon County Sheriff’s Office released a short statement that officers responded at 5 PM to a shooting call. When officials arrived on the scene, they found the politician in his car with life-threatening injuries. He was brought to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. 

While the short report says, “For now, no charges have been filed in this case.” The LCSO is also conducting a full investigation to acquire as many witnesses and video footage as possible. 

However, Florida’s “stand your ground” laws are very clear about people using weapons to defend their personal property. If the Prius driver’s story holds up, the law will likely favor the unnamed man. But more evidence is needed to confirm the current narrative.