A former Mayo Clinic physician in Florida, Bruce Mitchell, was arrested and charged after reportedly firing a gun at a vehicle carrying high school students who had thrown cheese at his car, according to police and The St. John’s Citizen.

Bruce Mitchell, 67, was taken into custody Saturday evening in Ponte Vedra Beach after a tense car chase began when five student athletes from a Jacksonville private school admitted to tossing cheese at Mitchell’s black Range Rover while stopped at a traffic light. Following the light change, Mitchell’s vehicle aggressively pursued the teens, who sped away, swerving between lanes.

Police say Mitchell then displayed a Sig Sauer handgun from his window and fired a shot into the air, prompting the teenage driver to accelerate sharply in fear for their lives. Several students called 911 during the chase, describing their terror.

Mitchell reportedly stopped chasing the teens after police passed, then pulled over when officers stopped him shortly afterward. Upon arrest, he claimed the teens had “shot at me first,” but no weapons were found in their vehicle.

Investigators discovered a loaded firearm and a spent shell casing in Mitchell’s Range Rover. The doctor, who formerly led Hospital Medicine at Emory University and spent 14 years at the Jacksonville Mayo Clinic, now faces felony charges including discharge of a weapon from a vehicle and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill.

#Clique, what are your thoughts?