A case of road rage in Pompano Beach ended with one person dead in broad daylight Wednesday.
The incident happened on the corner of Northwest 33rd Street and 15th Terrace around 4:30 p.m.
According to the Broward Sheriff's Office, a West Palm Beach man, identified as 38-year-old Cleveland Anthony Murdock, felt he was forced to defend himself when a man consumed with road rage attacked him on the street.
BSO Homicide Detectives say a black Toyota Tacoma driven by Murdock was behind a white Honda Civic as they travelled Westbound on Northwest 33rd Street. Both vehicles approached a stop sign, and according to witnesses, the passenger in the Civic, 33-year-old Patrick Lavoie, jumped out of the car he was travelling in and confronted Murdock.
Witnesses told deputies Lavoie tried to open the door of the Tacoma and was seen reaching in through the driver's side window.
The two were allegedly arguing because Murdock was driving too close to the other vehicle, driven by Lavoie's girlfriend.
Fearing for his life, detectives say Murdock took out his weapon and shot Lavoie, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
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Witness Luis Lopez ran to the scene after he heard the shots fired. "What I heard was a gunshot and I saw the man on the floor all bloody," said Lopez. " It's bad to see something like that in your neighborhood. That's messed up."
Murdock remained at the scene and waited for deputies to arrive. After several hours of questioning, he was released with no charges pending. Murdock has a state firearms license and a concealed weapons permit.
The mother of Lavoie's children left flowers at the scene, but was too distraught to talk. BSO Spokesperson Keyla Concepcion said the fatal shooting was a tragedy that could have been prevented.
"Is it really worth having someone dead now? Is it really worth his life?" she said. "Obviously the answer to that would be no."
