A man is in custody on Long Island after police say he pointed a gun at another driver during a road rage confrontation, a frightening encounter that ended with an arrest and the recovery of a firearm. Police identified the suspect as Gary Donnelly and said they are now asking anyone who witnessed the incident to come forward and contact investigators.
According to police, Donnelly was driving erratically in a Ford Transit van with ladders mounted on top when the road rage incident unfolded. It happened on Express Drive South near Route 110 at around 2 o'clock in the afternoon, along a busy stretch of roadway in the Route 110 corridor on Long Island, where the confrontation quickly escalated.
Investigators say Donnelly had been targeting a 26-year-old man from Freeport who had stopped near Spagnoli Road. It was there, police say, that Donnelly allegedly pointed a gun at the younger driver, turning an ordinary moment on the road into a terrifying confrontation with a firearm drawn at close range in broad daylight.
Donnelly was later taken into custody at his home in Huntington, according to police. When officers moved in to make the arrest, they recovered a gun, police said. The arrest brought an end to the search for the driver accused of brandishing the weapon during the roadside encounter earlier in the afternoon on Long Island.
Police have asked anyone who saw the road rage incident to contact them, saying that witness accounts could help in the investigation. Authorities urged drivers who may have been in the area at the time, or who saw the confrontation play out on the road, to call the number that was released to the public in connection with the case.
No injuries were reported in the confrontation, police said, and the driver who was targeted was not hurt. Donnelly remained in custody following his arrest at his Huntington home, and the case was still under investigation as police worked to gather accounts from any witnesses who saw the gun pointed on the road.