A man who was filmed gleefully firing an AK-47 from the window of a moving car along a Texas freeway last weekend has been charged after turning himself in to police.
Authorities with the El Paso Police Department said 26-year-old Jonathan Jay Oneal was the man in the silent video, which racked up thousands of views on social media after it was posted Saturday on Instagram by the gossip site “Fit Fam El Paso.”
The disturbing footage, reportedly filmed last Friday along the U.S. 54 Patriot Freeway in eastern El Paso, shows Oneal grinning as he fired the high-powered weapon as many as seven times from the back seat, police said.
Other vehicles can be seen driving by in the opposite direction as the gunfire sailed overhead.
No injuries have been reported.
Police became aware of the video Sunday and called for the shooter to come forward.
“If you are the person in the video, or person taking the video, the smart thing to do now: 1. Walk in to any police station unarmed and speak to investigators. 2. Make it a lesson learned and move forward from there,” El Paso police said on Twitter.
Oneal surrendered the next day.
For now, he faces a charge of discharging a firearm and is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail.
“We are grateful that no one was injured and appreciate the efforts of everyone not willing to tolerate this type of behavior in our city,” police said. “Thank you for your willingness to step up to keep our community safe.”
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