The incident began after 60-year-old Steven License’s wife threw a tissue out of their car window, angering another driver
Credit: Hingham Police
NEED TO KNOW
- A 60-year-old man is facing several assault charges after police said he fired a gun in a road rage incident that began over a tissue thrown on the ground
- The incident began after Steven License’s wife threw a tissue out of their car window, angering another driver
- License, who previously had his gun license suspended, is being held without bail
A Massachusetts man is facing several assault charges after police said he fired a gun at a driver in a road rage incident that began over littering.
Steven License, 60, is currently being held without bail following the incident, according to NBC Boston, Boston 25 News and CBS Boston.
Police in Hingham were called to the town’s public library parking lot just after 4:22 p.m. local time on Thursday, July 23, for a report of gunshots being fired during a confrontation between people in a car and a truck, the outlets reported.
Credit: Hingham Police
The truck drove away before police arrived, but the car remained at the scene.
Officials said the incident began when a woman — identified as License’s wife, Mary — threw a tissue out the car window as she was driving the car on Thursday afternoon.
A man in a pickup truck, later identified as the victim in the incident, then began tailgating the couple’s car.
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The man later told authorities that he “is extremely opposed to littering and cares for the environment and can’t tolerate when people litter,” according to a police report obtained by the outlets.
Both vehicles eventually stopped in the library parking lot, police said.
Surveillance footage obtained by authorities allegedly shows Mary and the truck driver getting out of their vehicles and yelling at each other before License fired two shots from out of his passenger-side window, according to police.
License, who was later taken to a hospital for stress-related symptoms, told the truck driver, “I’m warning you, stay back,” multiple times, police said.
Although License told police that the victim hit his wife, investigators said the surveillance footage did not show any physical contact between the two, and the victim was walking back to his truck when the shots rang out.
Officials said they do not believe License’s wife was ever in physical danger from the truck driver. Additionally, the bullets did not strike anyone or any nearby buildings.
License previously had his gun license suspended in 2022, and about 50 guns were removed from his home, but at the time of Thursday’s incident, he had a current license to carry.
The 60-year-old has been charged with assault with intent to murder, two counts of assault and battery with a firearm, assault with a dangerous weapon, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building and disorderly conduct, the outlets reported.
He is next set to appear in court on July 29.
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