FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — The routine route to get home for a father of four took a violent turn this week.
"I'm okay but mentally it's a lot,” said Roland.
Roland was following his girlfriend on SR-18 in Federal Way when he says another car cut her off.
He decided to pull up next to that car and exchange words. He didn’t know the passenger of the other car had a gun.
"He pulled a gun out and fired a shot into my door. I took off. He got in front of me, shot the front of my truck and shot my motor and then my truck shut off,” Roland said.
It happened so fast. He said the passenger fired three shots and then they took off through a red light.
“It was basically fight or flight and I was flying,” he added.
No one was hurt, but the bullets barely missed Roland.
“It’s just insane. I'm really grateful. It went through my speaker and barely missed me. So I'm pretty grateful for that,” he said.
The Washington State Patrol is investigating this shooting. Their office is looking for a dark-colored four-door sedan. Roland said it was a Corolla or Camry and had tinted windows. The driver was a female and the passenger, the suspected shooter, was an Asian man with a mask over his face.
Trooper Rick Johnson said Wednesday’s shooting in Federal Way marks the 17th shooting on freeways in King County so far in 2023. On Thursday night, another shooting happened in Tukwila. The driver reported someone shot at their car but they did not see the suspected shooter and no one was hurt.
Roland believes he has a guardian angel.
“I feel like my dad was looking out for me,” he added.
He lost his dad Ron to cancer on Saturday after a recent diagnosis.
“I feel like he's my guardian angel. There's no real explanation. I should have been shot,” Roland said. “He was my hero.”
Roland is hoping someone is also looking over the person who shot at him.
“I have no fear. I prayed for him. I am a Christian and I think he's lost and hopefully this will get him some help. This is not okay, to shoot at people. I don't think they understand this is forever,” he added.
Anyone who may have witnessed this shooting is urged to contact detectives at Washington State Patrol.