Mental evaluation sought for school traffic shooting suspect

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Prosecutors are seeking a mental evaluation for a man accused of opening fire during a traffic dispute with another father during student drop-off at an Alabama elementary school.

Court records show prosecutors requested a mental evaluation for 38-year-old Isaiah Johnson. Johnson was arrested Thursday and remains jailed on charges of discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle.

WSFA reports Johnson told a judge Friday that his wife died three weeks ago. Prosecutors wrote in a court filing that a friend of Johnson’s had expressed concern for his mental stability since his wife died.

Police said Johnson opened fire after getting into an argument Thursday morning with another father during morning drop off at Blount Elementary School in east Montgomery. No one was injured.

The shooting occurred shortly before 7:30 a.m. that day as the first students were arriving for classes.

Prosecutors said the incident “could have ended in tragedy for any one of the children attending school that morning.”

A defence lawyer in a filed response did not object to the evaluation. Defence lawyers requested that a judge allow Johnson to enter the Veteran’s Health Care System for psychiatric treatment.

Prosecutors are also seeking to raise Johnson’s bond from $30,000 to $100,000. Defence lawyers asked a judge to maintain the current bond amount.