Fuming NJ man shoots at driver in road rage terror, officials say

🚗 A Somerset County man is charged with attempted murder

🚗 He's accused of pulling a gun on a driver who wouldn't let him merge

🚗 The victim's car was shot twice, according to officials

FRANKLIN (Somerset) — A Somerset County man is charged with attempted murder after a shocking road rage incident during rush hour earlier this month, according to authorities.

Gerald S. Chapman, 39, of Somerset was driving in Franklin around 4:50 p.m. on Friday, May 5, the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office said. As he drove northbound on Easton Avenue, Chapman tried to merge in front of another vehicle just before the exit for Route 287.

But the other driver, who was from Franklin, wouldn't let Chapman merge into their lane. The driver later told detectives that there was simply no room to allow the merge.

Easton Ave northbound just before the Route 287 exit. (Google Maps)

Frustrated, Chapman slapped the victim's passenger side mirror, officials said. The victim got out of their car to check the damage and the situation quickly escalated.

Chapman pulled out a gun and shot twice at the other driver and struck their vehicle, according to prosecutors. He then drove off and the victim called the Franklin police.

The shooting took place just over a mile away from Chapman's home on Ulysses Road in Somerset.

Gerald Chapman (Somerset County Prosecutor's Office)

Local and county detectives, with help from a local FBI field office, investigated and identified Chapman as the crazed, armed driver. Officials say he turned himself in on Friday, May 19.

Chapman is charged with first-degree attempted murder and second-degree firearm possession for an unlawful purpose. He's being held at Somerset County Jail pending a court appearance.

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom

Places in NJ where gun owners have sued to carry a legal gun

New Jersey passed its own law in December, trying to ban legal guns from “sensitive places.”

A federal judge found many of those spots to be legally protected on grounds of armed self-defense, noting in her opinion, “Crowded locations are not sensitive places."

As of June, a federal appeals court granted the state attorney general's request to keep part of the law that bars people from carrying handguns in “sensitive places” in effect.

The decision means handguns cannot be carried in places such as zoos, public parks, public libraries and museums, bars, and health care facilities.

The law bars handguns from being carried in those places as well as schools and child care facilities. The lower court's May injunction did not specify those locations, and the appeals court also didn't remove the prohibition in those places.

Gallery Credit: Erin Vogt & The Associated Press