Road rage shootings are rising in the U.S.—but is the trend what it seems?

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.

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