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CHP Says Recent South Bay Freeway Shootings Appear Unrelated

SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) -- Arthur DeLeon happened to be at a San Jose 7-Eleven store as a mom and her young daughter pulled into the parking lot moments after someone shot at them, hitting their car Tuesday night.

"So it went to the headrest and came out this back window," DeLeon said.

He said the 12-year-old girl was sitting in the back seat. However, had she been in the front seat, she likely would've been shot. She suffered cuts on her back from the shattered glass, but DeLeon said it's a miracle she wasn't seriously hurt.

"Somebody was following them and stopping and going, and next thing you know, they shot," he said. California Highway Patrol investigators said Tuesday night's shooter, who was described as driving a white sedan, flashed a gun before pulling the trigger at the intersection of Interstates 280 and 101 in San Jose.

Then two hours later at 10 p.m., there was another highway shooting on southbound Highway 17. Investigators are trying to figure out if road rage was the motivation in that case where the shooter tailgates a driver then fires a shot. The victim in that case said he heard a thud and discovered a bullet hole in his car when he got home.

The two shootings follow a fatal highway shooting on Monday. Investigators are looking for the suspect who shot 30-year-old Matthew Rios on Interstate 680 near Landess Avenue in Milpitas at 10 p.m. The shootings within a 24 hour period has South Bay drivers shaken up.

But CHP investigators have said that there is no information that suggests the cases are related, and that they appear to be isolated incidents. DeLeon hopes justice is served before someone else gets hurt.

"Do you have a daughter, what if it was your daughter and your wife? Come on, think about it," DeLeon said.

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