Petty Officers Shot at During Traffic Incident

Fresh from training at the U.S. Navy firing range near Point Mugu, two petty officers driving through Port Hueneme were shot at by an irate driver Wednesday morning.

Neither man was hurt in the 11 a.m. shooting, but both appeared shaken after a bullet went through a rear side window of their Jeep Cherokee, hit a spare tire and narrowly missed Petty Officer James Triplett.

“I felt the glass hit the back of my neck and heard something whiz by,” said Triplett, who was riding in the front passenger seat.

Petty Officer Jose Garcia, who was driving the Jeep, said the shooter was driving a teal-colored Camaro and was clearly angry, yelling and flashing an obscene gesture.

The incident was triggered after the Camaro turned in front of Garcia and Triplett as they were driving westbound on Hueneme Road, Garcia said. Garcia had to brake to avoid hitting the car, and then sped up driving next to the Camaro and gesturing to him.

“That’s when he just went ballistic and gave us the single finger move and going back and forth with his car,” Garcia said.

The shooter slowed and moved into Garcia’s blind spot on the rear left side of the Jeep and fired a single round.

“I just heard this loud bang, and [Triplett] said he was shooting at us,” Garcia said. “We just got out of there.”

Police investigators found shell fragments inside the Jeep, but did had not arrested anyone as of Wednesday afternoon.

“I guess anything can set people off these days,” Port Hueneme Police Sgt. Jerry Beck said after looking over the Jeep.

The petty officers said they thought the Camaro may have had a base sticker for either Point Mugu or the Port Hueneme Navy bases.