A man was on his way to work early Tuesday morning, travelling on the eastbound lanes of Highway 401 in Mississauga, when he encountered a person walking on the busy freeway.
“You clearly see just a guy run from the left-hand side all the way to the right-hand side. And you think nothing of it until you see a gun pointed at you, and it’s fight or flight mode,” the man who only wants to be identified as Mike recounted to CP24 on Wednesday afternoon.
His dash cam, which did not have audio, captured a man in a grey hoodie in the live lanes of traffic, approaching vehicles and appearing to point a gun at them.
“My first decision was duck down, put it into third gear, and get the hell out of there,” Mike said. However, there was an accident a few metres ahead, preventing him from quickly fleeing.
“That’s where the fear comes in. (Will) he chase me or not?”
After passing the man, Mike recalled hearing a gunshot, which he said was when “the adrenaline starts pumping. And I did everything to get out of the way.”
He then called 911 to report the incident.
SUSPECT ALSO STOLE VEHICLE, POLICE SAY
Ontario Provincial Police continue to look for the male suspect, who they say shot several passing vehicles on the highway near Dixie Road at around 5 a.m. on Tuesday.
He is described as Black, between 25 and 35 years old, about five-foot-10, with long-braided hair to the middle of his back. He was last seen wearing jeans, a blue/grey t-shirt, black running shoes and a satchel on his shoulder.
Police said the man then stole a vehicle from a motorist in the area of Highways 401 and 410 and fled the scene. The vehicle was later found abandoned on Fasken Drive in Etobicoke, about 15 kilometres away from where it was stolen.
“The individual is considered armed and dangerous and was last seen at Highway 427 and Fasken Drive in Etobicoke,” police said.
No one was seriously injured in the incident that resulted in the lengthy closure of the Highway 401 eastbound collector lanes at Dixie Road and some Highway 410 and Highway 401 ramps.
Mike said hearing the gunshot made him realize the man armed with a gun “means business,” and he had to get out of there.
“It made me upset as soon as I got back to work. I mean, the gentleman stopped, and I was like, I can’t believe this happened,” Mike said.
“It seems like this is supposed to be the norm. I can’t believe that this is.”