FOX 19 reporter Brooklyn Andres says police are investigating after a woman’s car was shot at while she was driving home on Ronald Reagan Highway Monday night. The woman, identified as Jody in Andres’ report, told her the drive started like any other weekday trip, until she heard something strike the back of her car.
Andres reports that when Jody got home and looked closer, she found dents that appeared to come from a small-caliber weapon. That discovery, paired with what Jody says she experienced on the road, is why she believes this was not random road debris or a thrown object, but a targeted attack.
Jody told Brooklyn Andres she now suspects her license plate played a role. The plate reads “MAGAGRL,” which Jody sees as a political signal, and she believes it may have “triggered” someone enough to shoot at her car.
Police, Andres says, confirmed they are investigating, but had no additional details to share at the time of her report. The gap between what Jody believes happened and what investigators can prove is part of what makes the incident feel so tense, because the fear is immediate while the answers tend to arrive slowly.
“Emotional And Scary” On The Highway
Brooklyn Andres says Jody described her drive home as emotional and scary, and she used that exact phrase while walking Andres through what she remembers. Jody said she believed a vehicle had been tailing her for quite some time, which made the moment feel less like a fluke and more like a build-up.
Jody told Andres she looked over and saw a black car, and she thought it had tinted windows. At that point, she decided to speed up, explaining it in plain terms: “I’m going to gun it a little bit,” she said.
Then, as Jody pressed the gas to go faster, she told Brooklyn Andres she heard a “pop pop.” Jody said she knew something hit her car, even though in that moment she did not know exactly what it was.
Jody told Andres that right after she heard the impacts, the other driver “just tore off.” In her telling, the timing is what sticks with her, because the other car did not linger or stop, which made her feel like the goal was to harm her and disappear fast.
Brooklyn Andres’ report keeps the sequence tight: Jody hears something strike her vehicle, she gets home, and then she sees damage that appears consistent with gunfire.
That kind of progression is frightening because the danger is not fully understood until later, when you’re safe enough to look, and then the reality hits harder.
It’s also a reminder that highway fear can be strange and delayed, because when you’re moving at speed, your brain is trying to drive first and process second. By the time the “what just happened?” thought catches up, the shooter, if it was a shooter, may already be far down the road.
The Dents, The Plate, And The Pattern Jody Says She’s Seen
Brooklyn Andres reports that Jody and her husband found two small dents in the right rear bumper when she arrived home. Jody told Andres those dents are where her car was hit, and she believes they came from a small-caliber weapon.
Andres says this is not the first time Jody’s vehicle has been vandalized, which is why Jody’s mind immediately went to motive. Jody told Andres she believes the trouble ties back to her license plate, “MAGAGRL,” and she described a history of hostile reactions on the road.
“I’ve had issues in the past with people flipping me off, which is fine,” Jody told Brooklyn Andres. She added that she has dealt with people honking and yelling profanities, and she tried to brush it off because, as she put it, “words don’t hurt me.”
But Jody told Andres the shooting changed the feeling completely. She said she did not think there was “nothing really to it” until this incident, and now she sees it as serious because, in her view, the plate could provoke someone into pulling a weapon and firing at a stranger.
“It’s just not right as a human to want to hurt someone else just because they disagree with you,” Jody told Brooklyn Andres. That line captures what she says is at the heart of her fear: that a political difference, or even the assumption of one, can turn into real violence.
This is one of those stories where the specific detail – a custom plate – pulls the whole situation into a bigger conversation about how people treat each other in public now. Even if investigators later decide the plate was not the motive, Jody’s belief itself says something about the mood many drivers feel, where a symbol can seem like a target.
And when you think about it, the road is a place where people already feel anonymous and reactive, so mixing that with anger and weapons is like mixing gasoline with sparks. You don’t need a long argument for it to go wrong; you just need one impulsive second.
What Jody Says She Wants Now
Brooklyn Andres says Jody filed a police report Tuesday, and she is hoping to hear from police about potential suspects. At the same time, Andres reports that Jody’s main goal is to warn other people to be aware of their surroundings, because she believes the danger can show up fast and without warning.
Jody told Andres that the part that hits her most is imagining what could have happened if the shots had landed differently. “Anything could have happened,” she said, explaining that she could have crashed, or been hit, especially if the shot had struck her window.
Jody told Brooklyn Andres the emotions are layered, because it’s not just fear, it’s anger too. She described it as emotional, something that “gets you angry,” but she also said she mostly wants to fix the car and move forward.
That mix – wanting repairs, wanting safety, wanting justice, wanting the whole thing to stop being real – is common after a sudden act of violence, even when the injury is to property rather than a person. Your mind keeps replaying the “what if,” and each replay feels like another small punch.
Brooklyn Andres’ report also makes clear that Jody is not presenting herself as someone looking for attention, but as someone who feels shaken and is trying to regain control. In her words, she is trying to understand how a normal drive turned into something that could have ended with her wrecking, or worse.
Police Investigate As A Bigger Question Lingers
Brooklyn Andres reports that police confirmed they are investigating but did not share additional details at the time. That’s a standard position early in an investigation, but for the person who lived it, “no details” can feel like standing in the dark and hearing footsteps without knowing where they are coming from.
This is also the kind of case where small pieces of information matter a lot – where on the highway it happened, how long the black car followed, whether there are cameras, whether anyone else reported shots, whether any shell casings were found – yet none of that is publicly clear in Andres’ report because investigators are still working.
Jody’s belief about the plate, which Brooklyn Andres centers in the story, is what gives this incident a sharper edge. If someone shot at a moving car because of perceived politics, that is not just reckless, it is a sign that the social temperature is boiling over into real-world danger, and that should bother everyone no matter what they believe.
At the same time, stories like this can pull people into quick conclusions, and it’s important to separate what Jody suspects from what police can prove. Brooklyn Andres is careful to report the investigation as ongoing, and that distinction matters because the truth of motive often takes time and evidence, not just shock.
Still, the basic fact remains unsettling even without motive: Jody says she heard “pop pop,” she found dents consistent with gunfire, and police are investigating a shooting at a vehicle on a public highway. That alone is enough to make most drivers grip the wheel a little tighter the next time they pass a dark car with tinted windows.
Andres’ report ends with that unresolved feeling hanging in the air, because Jody is still waiting, the public is still reacting, and the case sits in that uncomfortable space between “this happened” and “we know why.”
In the meantime, the warning Jody gave Brooklyn Andres is simple and hard to argue with: stay aware, because even a routine drive can turn strange in seconds.
Ed spent his childhood in the backwoods of Maine, where harsh winters taught him the value of survival skills. With a background in bushcraft and off-grid living, Ed has honed his expertise in fire-making, hunting, and wild foraging. He writes from personal experience, sharing practical tips and hands-on techniques to thrive in any outdoor environment. Whether it’s primitive camping or full-scale survival, Ed’s advice is grounded in real-life challenges.
