D’Monterrio Gibson, 24, said two white men tried to cut him off, chased him onto the highway, and began shooting at him while he was making deliveries in Brookhaven, Mississippi, on January 24.
Police later arrested a father and son, Gregory Case, 58, and Brandon Case, 35. Conspiracy and shooting into a motor vehicle were the only charges faced by the two. Gibson’s lawyer demands the father and son be charged with attempted murder and hate crimes.
Around 7 p.m., Gibson told AP he had just dropped off a package. While turning his van around in the driveway, he noticed a white pickup truck pull out of another driveway. At the time, Gibson was wearing his FedEx uniform. Although his van was a Hertz rental, it had a logo magnet.
According to Gibson, the truck hurried over to him and tried to block him from exiting. However, he could avoid the truck—another man in the street with a gun, motioned for him to stop.
“I drive down about two or three houses and there’s another guy standing in the middle of the street, with a gun pointed at my vehicle,” Gibson said.
“I’m looking at him, like shaking my head, because why would I stop for somebody with a gun?”
The man opened fire on Gibson when he tried to leave. The bullets struck the van and ripped through the packages inside.
Gibson said he managed to escape but realized the white pickup truck was still in pursuit. According to Gibson, the truck chased after him for some time, going as far as the interstate highway near Brookhaven before the driver could lose them.
When he called the police, Gibson said, he was informed about a call they had already received about a suspicious person in the area. It was presumably him.
“I said, ‘Sir, I’m not a suspicious person. I’m a FedEx worker. I was just doing my job, and they shot at me,” Gibson recalled.
Gibson claimed managers told him to go back to the route the next day when he informed them of the incident.
“The following day, we had to go file a police report, and as soon as I was done filing a police report, they put me back on the same route,” Gibson said, per WJTV.
“I did that for like a day or two until I started having real bad anxiety attacks, and I just couldn’t do it anymore. I asked them for some time off, which I do have, but it’s unpaid.”
The company’s lack of empathy and the prosecutors’ lax charges appear to anger the driver’s attorneys.
“We want to give a warning to FedEx because they’re not out of this at all,” lawyer Rodney Diggs told reporters.
“What’s interesting is, after Mr. Gibson made these complaints to a supervisor — multiple supervisors — they didn’t show any concern. What they wanted Mr. Gibson to do was complete his route. Complete his route, after he just almost lost his life. You have bullet fragments in the truck and in the car.”
The company said in a statement: “FedEx takes situations of this nature very seriously, and we are shocked by this criminal act against our team member, D’Monterrio Gibson. The safety of our team members is our top priority, and we remain focused on his wellbeing. We will continue to support Mr. Gibson as we cooperate with investigating authorities.”
Gibson’s attorneys said the father and son are “undercharged” and lashed out at police and prosecutors.
“This man is fully, gainfully employed by FedEx, doing his job, and still you haul off and try to chase him and cut him off and shoot him multiple times and kill him,” fellow attorney Carlos Moore said. “It’s sickening to be that hateful and that racist and that full of just malice just because of the color of his skin.”
He added Thursday: “We have called for federal groups, the Department of Justice and the FBI, to immediately begin an investigation because we do believe the crimes were hate crimes and racially motivated. We have asked them to investigate and prosecute should the evidence warrant it.”
According to the Daily Leader, Moore said the District Attorney had presented the evidence to the grand jury, who will decide if any more charges are warranted.
Brookhaven Police Chief Kenny Collins, Black, disclaimed notions that the city is racist and issued a warning to those making inflammatory posts.
“We’re not going to have outsiders coming in trying to stir that up,” he told the publication. “Brookhaven is not a racist, prejudiced town. You can’t judge a town by the actions of two individuals.”
“People need to be careful what they post on social media,” he added. “If somebody is killed or hurt because of what you post on social media, you will be charged, too.”
On Friday, Moore announced FedEx would pay Gibson his back pay for his unpaid leave.
