MILWAUKEE, Wis. — A 17-year-old girl and her boyfriend were shot at while driving on I-43 North in Milwaukee, with the teen suffering a graze wound in what appears to be a road rage incident.
"Let's talk about a helpless, hopeless, terrifying feeling as a parent," Justin Greco said after his daughter called to tell him she had been shot at on the interstate.
The teen, who wishes to remain anonymous for safety concerns, told TMJ4 the incident happened Sunday on I-43 North at the Fond du Lac and McKinley exit, and began with something as simple as a car horn.
Watch: Car horn leads to gunfire on Milwaukee interstate, leaving teens with possible graze wounds
The teen emailed TMJ4 wanting to share her story.
"Our lives were put at the hands of a stranger with a gun over road rage," the teen said.
The 17-year-old and her boyfriend were headed for a lakefront sunrise when their quiet morning drive quickly turned dangerous.
"As we're getting onto the Fond du Lac and McKinley exit, we see this car trying to swerve around us," she said. "We're almost pushed into the wall, so my boyfriend brakes, slows down a little bit, honks his horn to go around because he's, we gotta get off at the other exit."
As they were trying to move out of the driver's way, the situation escalated.
"[He] goes around to my side, first shot sounded like firework, that's what we thought, we thought nothing of it until we saw the passenger side window shattered," the teen explained.
"I look over and I see the glass shattered and I'm like oh... oh my goodness," she added.
The teen suffered a graze wound on her arm, and her boyfriend may have sustained a wound to his head. She reported seeing the alleged shooter driving away in a silver Dodge Journey.
The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office is investigating the incident, according to the teen. They did not respond to our requests for comment.
"Tell me why it was important for you to reach out to us," Reporter Jenna Rae asked the teen.
"For awareness because this can happen to absolutely anyone and I never thought a horn could cause this," she said.
Her father echoed the sentiment, urging caution on the roads.
"As a parent, be aware. As a driver, be aware, I think there's been plenty of times I've thrown up the middle finger because someone cut me off and you know I'm not gonna do that anymore, you never know," Greco said.
The incident has left lasting trauma for the young victim.
"Freeways have been a little bit difficult for me. Hearing a horn or just my dog dropping his bone, it's something I'm gonna have to live with for the rest of my life because someone got upset over a horn," the teen said.
When asked if she ever thought she would be shot at while driving on the highway as a teenager, she replied: "No I never thought I'd be shot at in general, ever, never."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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