A road-rage dispute ended with a shot fired outside a Chick-fil-A on Lakeland Drive Saturday night, but police said the intended victim was uninjured when the round struck a steel-toed boot and failed to penetrate.
Flowood police identified the suspect as Kyle Maurice Ramos, 39, of Jackson. He was booked on aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and held without bond at the Rankin County Jail pending an initial court appearance. Investigators said the incident began on the roadway and continued into the restaurant lot, where the victim pulled in just before the shot was fired. Officers credited the protective boot for preventing a foot injury and said no bystanders were hurt. The department did not immediately release the make of the firearm or the distance of the shot.
Police Chief Eric Zetterholm said the confrontation moved into the lot near Treetops Boulevard, a busy retail stretch off Lakeland Drive. The victim told officers he parked as the other driver followed in, exited and pointed a gun. One round struck the victim’s footwear and was later recovered by investigators. Witnesses described customers ducking behind vehicles as the scene unfolded. Officers arrived within minutes, taped off several spaces and collected a shell casing and fragments consistent with a single discharge. “This could have ended very differently,” a responding supervisor said at the scene.
Detectives said they are piecing together a timeline from surveillance cameras mounted on the restaurant and nearby storefronts. Early statements suggest the two vehicles exchanged words moments before turning into the lot. Investigators planned to download any available video to verify approach speeds, parking positions and the angle of the muzzle when the shot was fired. Technicians photographed scuff marks near the driver’s side of the victim’s vehicle and bagged the damaged boot for evidence. Police said the victim declined medical transport after paramedics checked vitals on site.
Flowood sits on the east side of the Jackson metro area, where commercial corridors funnel weekend traffic into large parking lots shared by big-box stores and restaurants. Officers said Saturday night foot traffic was steady when the dispute escalated, with families moving to and from the dining room and drive-thru. Staff temporarily blocked the front row of parking while police worked. By closing time, the lot had reopened and the restaurant resumed normal operations. The department did not report any property damage inside the business.
Ramos was taken into custody shortly after the shooting. Police did not specify whether he was arrested at the scene or during a stop nearby, but said officers recovered a handgun consistent with the evidence collected in the lot. Booking records list the charges and note a no-bond status until an initial appearance in Flowood Municipal Court. Under Mississippi law, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon can carry significant prison time; the felon-in-possession count is handled separately. Prosecutors are expected to review surveillance footage and witness statements before finalizing the charging documents.
Investigators said they are still confirming what sparked the dispute, including whether a lane change, honk or sudden stop preceded the chase into the lot. The department asked witnesses who recorded the encounter to retain original files, which allow clearer frame-by-frame analysis. Collision-style measurements—distances between vehicles, the position of shell casings and the angle to the victim’s door—will be included in a report that maps where people stood in the seconds before and after the shot.
Customers who returned Sunday found a normal lunch rush. A set of faint evidence-number stencils remained on the asphalt near the entrance. A nearby store manager said he saw officers canvassing adjacent businesses for video. “It was quick and scary,” said a diner who arrived minutes after the shooting and watched police redirect cars. No additional arrests were announced by late Sunday, and police had not identified the victim by name.
The Flowood Police Department said further updates would follow after the initial court appearance and once lab work on the bullet and boot is complete. The restaurant declined detailed comment but confirmed it cooperated with officers during the response and the subsequent canvass of the property.
As of Monday, Ramos remained in custody at the Rankin County Jail. Investigators continued to collect footage and statements and to finalize a timeline of the road-rage encounter that led to the shot in the Chick-fil-A parking lot.
Author note: Last updated January 13, 2026.