Background: A section of Poplar Level Road in Louisville, Kentucky (Google Maps). Inset: Gabriel Rodriguez (Louisville Metro Government).
A man and woman were driving by a burning car on a Kentucky road when they heard a loud bang — and then realized the woman had been shot in the head.
Gabriel Eduardo Rodriguez, 19, has been charged with first-degree wanton endangerment involving the discharge of a firearm and receiving a stolen firearm, as well as first- and second-degree assault, according to jail records reviewed by Law&Crime. He was booked into jail on Monday.
On the evening of July 8, a man and woman were driving a vehicle in the area of Poplar Level Road in Louisville, Kentucky, according to the Louisville Metro Police Department.
The duo said that as they drove onto East Indian Trail in the city, they saw a vehicle covered in flames, and when they passed it, they suddenly heard a loud bang, local Fox affiliate WDRB reported. The man realized he had been grazed on the arm with a bullet, and the woman had been shot in the head.
The couple apparently made their way to a residence on Twin Oak Lane, where police caught up with them at about 9 p.m. They were both taken to a nearby hospital.
Though their injuries appeared to be non-life-threatening, court records reviewed by the TV station show the woman has a bullet permanently lodged in her skull.
Police later found a vehicle of interest in the investigation on Poplar Level Road and determined that Rodriguez allegedly drove a second vehicle involved in the shooting. When officers went to his residence, they allegedly found and seized a stolen handgun.
It is not clear whether there was a motive behind the shooting, or why it took months for Rodriguez to be charged. He appeared in court on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty before posting a partially secured $25,000 bond stipulating that he cannot possess weapons or contact the victims or witnesses, per WDRB.
He is expected back in court next week.