A woman accused of pointing a gun at a family out walking their dog has been exposed in footage from a camera mounted to her own car.
Esmeralda Cruz, 23, was arrested in Lehigh Acres, a suburb outside of Fort Myers, Florida, last Sunday for threatening a family with the firearm, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
The footage revealed Cruz zooming down a residential street in an electric blue sports car.
She stopped in the street and started revving her engine when she spotted a couple walking their dog in the road.
Cruz sped up and swerved around the man and his dog, almost taking the two out in the process.
She was then seen exiting her vehicle with a gun in her hand. The man and his dog approached Cruz, and she began screaming at them.
Cruz is accused of pointing her gun at the dog, which prompted another woman to intervene.
It was unclear what Cruz said to the couple, but she seemed to hurl several profanities at the family. At one point, Cruz seemingly taunts the couple to call the cops.
Footage shared by police revealed Esmeralda Cruz’s electric blue car barreling down a residential street before the road rage incident
Cruz allegedly pointed her gun at the three individuals and their dog in a shocking moment caught on camera
‘Don’t run in front of my f***ing car!’ she added.
Police said they obtained the footage from a camera mounted on top of Cruz’s car. She was arrested for three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and cops later confiscated the firearm from her home.
‘The grid is busier than ever. Road rage has no place in Lee County, and won’t be tolerated,’ Sheriff Carmine Marceno said.
Cruz was booked into the Lee County Jail at 6:26 pm on Sunday and was released the following day at 2:20 pm.
She faces three charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill for each person she allegedly pointed a gun at.
Cruz was released on a $15,000 bail, $5,000 for each of the counts against her, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
Her next court date is scheduled for November 24 at 8:30 am. Cruz hasn’t yet entered a plea for the charges against her.
Cruz was arrested and charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and was released on bail a day later
The video went viral on social media, with many users expressing their shock at the footage.
‘Poor dog was like.. why me?’ one comment read.
‘I love how they used her own camera footage to charge her lol,’ another pointed out.
‘Never pull your gun unless you’re going to use it… Like pay attention to gun safety classes……..’ a third added.
Road rage incidents involving guns aren’t uncommon, with 116 people killed by a gunshot because of a roadside dispute from January to October 2024, according to the Gun Violence Institute.
The number of people killed or injured by a gun in a road rage incident has increased since 2019.
