Suspect Pleads Not Guilty in Road Rage Shooting That Killed 3-Year-Old

The man who allegedly shot and killed a 3-year-old boy last weekend in a road rage incident in Little Rock, Ark., turned himself in to authorities on Thursday night.

Gary Eugene Holmes, 33, pleaded not guilty on Friday to preliminary charges of capital murder and committing a terroristic act, the Associated Press reports, citing a statement from Little Rock police.

While driving in the rain on Saturday, Holmes allegedly got out of his car and fired his gun at the car in front of him, which was stopped at a stop sign. His girlfriend, who was in the car with him at the time, told police that Holmes had complained about the other car following him too closely. Before reaching the stop sign, he had pulled over to let the car pass.

“That’s what you get for following me around,” Holmes said when he got back in the car, according to his girlfriend, who was not named in court documents. She said she and Holmes were not aware he had shot someone until the following day, the AP reports.

The gunshot fatally struck and killed 3-year-old Acen King, who was on a shopping trip with his grandmother, Kim King-Macon, who was not injured. She told investigators that she didn’t realize Acen had been shot in the back until she arrived at the shopping center and noticed he was slumped over in his seat.

Acen later died at the hospital.