Advertisement

Gunman targeted female motorists after ranting against women on Facebook

Nicholas D'Agostino reportedly ranted online about 'incompetent' female motorists amid his shooting spree.

CREDIT: KPRC/YouTube
CREDIT: KPRC/YouTube

A 29 year-old man who posted misogynistic online rants about women has been arrested for a string of shootings of female drivers.

After police arrested Nicholas D’Agostino for shooting a woman while he was driving in Katy, Texas, he confessed to his involvement in five additional incidents in which he opened fire on women.

Authorities said that in his Facebook posts, D’Agostino “rants and rambles on about female motorists and how incompetent they are and that their sole purpose is to give birth to male children.”

In the July shooting, a bullet lodged just millimeters from the victim’s heart. D’Agostino said the woman he shot swerved into his lane twice and said the shooting was “self-defense.”

Advertisement

The victim in an earlier shooting saw a news report about a July 10 shooting in which D’Agostino was allegedly involved and came forward, according to ABC13 Eyewitness News.

Another victim in March was shot in the arm as she left a gas station. D’Agostino claimed he shot her because her vehicle was moving toward him and he saw her as a threat.

D’Agostino was able to post bond after the most recent shooting, but was rearrested 48 hours later when another shooting came to light.

The combined bond for the two shootings came to $400,000, a hefty sum authorities said was warranted because the gunman represents a “continuing threat, and in particular, to female motorists in Katy.”

There have been various incidents of men shooting at women on the road this year and in the past few years.

On Saturday, a woman was shot and killed in San Diego in what officials consider a possible road rage incident. A man driving in a black Mercedes Benz is suspected of killing her after she stopped her vehicle behind his at at red light.

Advertisement

In June, Jeremy Webster shot Meghan Bigelow after they exchanged words in Westminster, Colorado. Webster followed her after she she drove into a parking lot, pulled out his gun and shot her multiple times and then began shooting at her children. A bystander was also shot during the incident. One of Bigelow’s children escaped and was able to notify police.

In April of 2016, a man shot a Minneapolis woman four times after she honked at a Jeep that cut in front of her during rush hour. The victim survived the shooting.

Whether fueled by misogyny or other forms of hate, incidents involving firearms in traffic disputes are rising.

Last year, The Trace reported that road rage incidents involving firearms more than doubled from 247 in 2014 to 620 in 2016. CityLab’s past analysis cited one of the more rigorous studies about road rage. According to the 2006 study, those most likely to engage= in forms of road rage — such as making obscene or rude gestures or aggressively following a car too closely — were men, young people, drivers in a vehicle in which there was a gun, binge drinkers, people with a history of having been arrested for a non-traffic violation, and individuals “who do not believe most people can be trusted.”