A road rage incident from last October in Florida in which an exchange of gunfire injured two children is ending with only one man charged with attempted murder, while the other is protected by Florida’s stand your ground law.
William Hale, 36, of Douglas, Georgia, and Frank Allison, 44, of Callahan, Florida, were both driving home with their families on Oct. 8 after spending time in Jacksonville in northeastern Florida.
Florida’s Allison, left; Georgia’s Hale, right
After brake-checking each other, driving too fast, Allison’s wife flipping off the Hales, and Hale throwing a water bottle at Allison’s window, Allison, the Florida Man, was the first to fire a shot at the Georgia Man. The shot struck Hale’s 5-year-old daughter in the back seat.
Hale then emptied his Glock into the Allison vehicle, striking Allison’s 14-year-old daughter.
(Both girls were treated at local hospitals and survived, the 5-year-old was struck in the leg and the 14-year-old was struck in the back.)
In October, both men were arrested on attempted murder charges, and Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper said there very nearly were “two dead kids because of two stupid grown men.”
But on March 30, the Nassau County State’s Attorney’s Office charged only Georgia Man Hale with three counts of second-degree attempted murder, three counts of aggravated assault, and one count of maliciously throwing a deadly missile — the water bottle.
Allison is protected from being charged himself under Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law, according to the Nassau County State’s Attorney’s Office.
“The water bottle had liquid in it, and (Hale) threw it with malicious intent, clearly intending for it to enter the Allisons’ vehicle and possibly strike one of the occupants,” the State’s Attorney’s Office wrote. “As such, the water bottle would qualify as a deadly missile.”
In addition, the “aggressive driving pattern and the throwing of a water bottle placed the Allisons in fear of imminent death or great bodily harm and constitute the commission of forcible felonies. William Hale’s actions — both independently and collectively — justify Frank Allison’s use of deadly force against William Hale.”