Inset: Jeffrey Brooks (Hamilton County Jail). Background: The area in Tennessee where Brooks allegedly shot a 15-year-old during a road rage incident (Google Maps).
A 46-year-old man in Tennessee is accused of chasing down a car carrying two teenagers during an early-morning road rage confrontation that ended with him pulling alongside the teens' vehicle on a highway and opening fire, striking a 15-year-old passenger in the back and leaving him paralyzed.
Jeffrey Robert Brooks was arrested this week and charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder as well as one count each of possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, felony reckless endangerment, and tampering with or fabricating evidence, court records show.
According to a news release from the Chattanooga Police Department, the June 26 shooting happened on southbound Highway 153 between Thrasher Bridge and Exit 5A. Officers initially responded to reports of a shooting in the 4900 block of Bonny Oaks Drive but determined the gunfire had occurred on the highway.
"The preliminary investigation indicates the victim was a passenger in a vehicle that was involved in a road rage incident with the suspect's vehicle," police wrote.
The teen was taken to a hospital with injuries that police initially described as non-life-threatening.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by local NBC affiliate WRCB, the victim was riding in the passenger seat of a blue Honda Fit when the driver became involved in what investigators described as a "rolling road rage incident" with the driver of a pickup truck just before 4:30 a.m.
The teenage driver told investigators the pickup repeatedly tried to run them off the road. Although they briefly got away, the truck caught up with them again after both vehicles entered Highway 153. As the teens attempted to exit the highway, investigators said the pickup pulled alongside the driver's side of the Honda and two gunshots rang out.
One bullet struck the passenger in the back, damaging his spinal cord and leaving him unable to move his legs, according to the affidavit. Detectives also found bullet damage to the driver's side of the Honda that they said was consistent with the teens' account, local ABC affiliate WTVC reported.
The victims reportedly told police the pickup had a broken rear window displaying an American flag decal. Investigators used license plate reader data and surveillance video to identify a blue Nissan Titan registered to Brooks that regularly traveled through the area during the early morning hours, according to the affidavit.
Detectives also learned Brooks replaced the broken rear window and removed the American flag decal three days after the shooting, despite the damage remaining unrepaired for roughly six months prior. Investigators cited the repair as the basis for the evidence-tampering charge.
When officers arrested Brooks, investigators said he acknowledged owning the Nissan Titan and numerous firearms recovered during the investigation.
Brooks was booked into the Hamilton County Jail following his arrest. He was being held on $100,000 bond as of Friday morning.