Man arrested over viral video of him shooting a semiautomatic weapon out of a moving car

Texas man, 26, turns himself in to police after a video of him smiling and shooting a semiautomatic weapon out of a moving car went viral

  • Jonathan Oneal, 26, surrendered to El Paso police on Monday and was charged with discharging a firearm in certain municipalities 
  • Cops say Oneal was seen on Instagram video firing a semiautomatic firearm in he air while traveling in a car along Patriot Freeway South Friday
  • Video was shared on Instagram gossip page dedicated to El Paso, where it has been viewed more than 97,000 times 
  • Police saw the video and sent out a tweet calling on the man in the video to turn himself in to police 
  • They later praised Oneal for doing the right thing by coming forward  

A Texas man surrendered to police and was arrested on a weapons charge, three days after he was allegedly seen in a viral Instagram video laughing and firing a semiautomatic rifle while traveling in a car on a highway.

Jonathan Jay Oneal, 26, from El Paso, turned himself in to police on Monday and was booked into the county jail on a charge of discharging a firearm in certain municipalities. His bond was set at $50,000.

Oneal’s arrest came after the El Paso gossip Instagram page Fit Fam El Paso shared a cellphone recording on Saturday showing the suspect discharging a firearm while riding as a passenger in a car along Patriot Freeway South near Spur 601 at around 11.30pm on Friday. 

The culprit is seen in the video firing about seven shots

The El Paso gossip Instagram page Fit Fam El Paso on Saturday shared a disturbing cellphone video showing a grinning man firing a semiautomatic gun out of the window of a moving car

The shooting incident took place on Friday night along Patriot Freeway South near Spur 601

The shooting incident took place on Friday night along Patriot Freeway South near Spur 601

No injuries were reported in connection to the shooting. 

The caption that accompanied the recording read: ‘absolutely disgusting footage surfaced last night of yet another person firing a weapon out of a moving vehicle on El Paso highways. A multitude of cars can be seen driving past in the opposite lane. 

‘This is the second such incident in less than a month. Although this is not a video you’d like to see just days before Christmas, we’re posting it because it’s the reality of El Paso right now, and you MUST be cautious out there, because there are many people who aren’t.’

The video has been viewed more than 97,700 times and caught the attention of the El Paso Police Department’s Gang Unit, which identified the man grinning while firing shots in the video as Oneal, according to a press release.

The El Paso Police Department became aware of the video and sent out a tweet calling on the gunman to come forward

The El Paso Police Department became aware of the video and sent out a tweet calling on the gunman to come forward 

On Monday, 26-year-old Jonathan Oneal, who police say is the man seen in the video, surrendered to police

He was charged with discharging a firearm in certain municipalities

On Monday, 26-year-old Jonathan Oneal, who police say is the man seen in the video, surrendered to police. He was charged with discharging a firearm in certain municipalities

Police praised the suspect for doing 'the right thing' by turning himself in to them

Police praised the suspect for doing ‘the right thing’ by turning himself in to them 

Cops thanked those who raised the alarm about the incident for their 'willingness to step up to keep our community safe'

Cops thanked those who raised the alarm about the incident for their ‘willingness to step up to keep our community safe’

On Sunday, police addressed the suspect directly in a tweet, stating: ‘If you are the person in the video, or person taking the video, the smart thing to do now: 1. Walk in to any police station unarmed and speak to investigators. 2. Make it a lesson learned and move forward from there.’

Following Oneal’s arrest, the police department praised him for doing ‘the right thing’ by coming forward, and expressed gratitude to those who raised the alarm about the incident for their ‘willingness to step up to keep our community safe.’

Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that last month, police arrested two brothers, Josue and Ruben Macias, for firing shots into the air out of a moving vehicle on an El Paso highway after a video of the pair was posted on the same Instagram page.    



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