A recent murder charge in a road rage shooting adds to the growing trend in the U.S., with Texas leading the nation in the number of incidents from 2014 through early 2025.

Koby Don Burkhart, 22, was charged with the murder of Ricky Lynn Langs in a road rage shooting on Jan. 27, according to Fort Worth Police Department.

The incident began when Langs honked at Burkhart’s vehicle at roundabout at East Rosedale Street and South Ayers Avenue, according to the arrest warrant affidavit. Dash cam footage from Langs’ car recorded two gunshots fired during the encounter, CBS News reported.

From 2014 to 2024, the number of road rage shootings steadily increased, averaging 76 additional cases per year, according to the Gun Violence Archive (GVA), a nonprofit organization that collects and provides real-time data on gun-related violence in the U.S. However, after peaking in 2021, the numbers have gradually declined.

The data also reveals a consistent rise in the number of fatal road rage shootings from 2014 to 2024. According to GVA, these incidents have increased by an average of 20% per year over the past decade.

Dr. Benjamin P. Comer, a TCU professor of criminology and criminal justice, cautions against taking any single data source at face value.

“It is worth remembering the GVA is but one among many open-source data collection platforms that provides gun violence data in the U.S., and these other platforms typically report different counts of otherwise similar events,” he said.

He also noted that data may also vary due to inconsistencies in reporting by law enforcement agencies or media outlets, on which the GVA relies. Additionally, many road rage incidents might go unreported, meaning the actual numbers could be even higher.

Since the start of 2025, GVA has recorded 52 road rage shootings in the U.S., 19 in Texas. In 2024, Texas had the highest number of road rage shootings, with 74 incidents, accounting for 17% of all cases nationwide.

However, Texas' large population must be taken into account. In 2024, Texas was the second largest state by population after California, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Population Clock.

“Six of the top ten states experiencing the largest population growth between 2014-2024 were also in the top ten list of highest road rage counts,” Comer said.

A more accurate way to compare states is by calculating the rate of road rage shootings per 100,000 residents. When adjusted for population, New Mexico had the highest rate from 2014 to 2024, with approximately 4.8 cases per 100,000—double Texas’ rate of 2.4 per 100,000.

Beyond population size, other factors contribute to state-level variations in road rage shootings, including economic conditions, infrastructure, gun ownership rates, gun laws and the number of new drivers, Comer added.

In Texas, Houston recorded the highest number of road rage shootings from 2014 to 2024, with 212 incidents. San Antonio followed with 107 cases, while Fort Worth ranked third with 53 reported incidents.

"Houston has been labeled one of the worst-designed cities in the U.S. It has one of the largest carbon footprints of any major city and suffers from deteriorating infrastructure," Comer said.

To reduce the risk of road rage incidents, Comer said drivers should follow traffic laws, be mindful of reacting to other drivers’ mistakes and exercise self-control. In the event of a confrontation, experts say it is best to avoid escalating the situation, remain in your vehicle and contact the police, if necessary.

Additionally, the Texas Department of Transportation provides guidance on avoiding aggressive driving behaviors, which can help reduce the risk of road rage incidents.

Methodology: For this story, we pulled data from the Gun Violence Archive. We pulled data on road rage incidents that included shots fired with no injuries, incidents with shots fired with injuries and shots fired with fatalities. We combined the data and removed any duplicates before analyzing.