A retired doctor from the Mayo Clinic in Florida is facing serious charges after allegedly shooting at a car full of high school students who were throwing cheese at his Range Rover, as reported by the police.
Dr. Bruce Mitchell, 67, was taken into custody in Ponte Vedra Beach on Saturday evening following a high-speed chase that started with a seemingly harmless prank by a group of teens.
According to the St. John’s Citizen, five student athletes from a private school in Jacksonville confessed to police that they were “throwing cheese” from their car at a stoplight. The situation escalated when a black Range Rover, later identified as belonging to Mitchell, began aggressively following them after the light turned green.
The Range Rover continued to chase the teens, who maneuvered through lanes and sped up to evade the vehicle.
It is alleged that Mitchell then brandished a gun from his Rover’s window and fired a shot into the air, prompting the teenage driver to accelerate and drive away quickly.
The driver admitted to feeling like he “didn’t want to die” during the ordeal, while one of the passengers expressed being “in fear for his and his friends’ lives” as they dialed 911 from the car.
After the police intervened and passed the teens, Mitchell stopped following them and drove off in a different direction. He was apprehended shortly afterward.
According to court documents, Mitchell exited his vehicle without being instructed, leading officers to draw their weapons and command him to surrender, which he eventually did.
“I then gave loud verbal commands to walk backwards to the sound of my voice,” stated a responding officer in an incident report obtained by the Citizen.
A Sig Sauer pistol was discovered in Mitchell’s glovebox, along with a loaded magazine on the passenger seat and a spent bullet casing on the floor of the vehicle.
Following his arrest, Mitchell initially claimed, “they shot at me first,” before choosing to remain silent, according to court records.
No weapons were found in the teenagers’ car.
Mitchell faces charges of discharging a weapon from a vehicle and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill. He was released on bond after being processed.
Previously, the doctor held the position of Director of Hospital Medicine at Emory University and worked at the Jacksonville Mayo Clinic for 14 years, as indicated on his LinkedIn profile.
