BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – An 18-year-old man was arrested Tuesday, accused of providing a handgun to a juvenile who used it to shoot at a car on Interstate 95 that afternoon, according to the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.
The shooting occurred around 2:52 p.m. as both the victims’ and shooter’s vehicles, respectively, traveled south on I-95, according to an arrest report.
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The victims, later identified as a married couple driving a rental car, told deputies that they changed lanes upon seeing the shooter’s SUV approach quickly from the rear. The SUV was described in the report as traveling at a high rate of speed, swerving in and out of traffic.
The victim driving noted the driver and passenger in the SUV obscured their faces with their clothes and lowered a window before a loud bang was heard and a window shattered in the rental car.
At that time, the man’s wife saw blood on her face — attributed to either a bullet or debris grazing her nose — and the couple pulled over to call 911, according to the report. Law enforcement said they later observed a bullet hole “about 6 to 8 inches away” from where the man’s head would have been while driving.
A Brevard deputy saw the SUV with Oklahoma plates identified by the Florida Highway Patrol in Palm Bay and conducted a traffic stop on Venus Street, the report shows.
In the driver’s seat was Gabriel Boisvert, an 18-year-old man who deputies said they identified by an Oregon driver’s license.
Boisvert’s passenger, so far identified only as a juvenile boy, was wearing a fanny pack across his chest that contained a Glock 43X, the report shows. Boisvert said that the gun belonged to him and the passenger told law enforcement that he shot at the other car because his father just got out of prison and he needed some help, deputies said.
Boisvert faces misdemeanor charges for causing a child to commit an act of delinquency and permitting a child younger than 16 years old to possess a weapon, records show. He was given a $7,000 bond amount at booking Tuesday, with his first court appearance scheduled the morning of Jan. 24, 2023.
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