Enraged Florida man flashes gun, yells racial slurs, threatens to kill Black family after traffic dispute: police

In the second similar incident in the same county in the last three weeks, a Florida man is accused of threatening a Black family with a gun while yelling racial slurs following a traffic dispute.

Michael T. Parkinson, 55, allegedly followed the victim home for two miles on Thursday night after a dispute over merging, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Parkinson proceeded to get out of his vehicle and approach the victim's residence, where his wife and juvenile daughter were inside.

Lifting his shirt to show a pistol, Parkinson yelled slurs before getting back in his vehicle, then driving past the home slowly four more times yelling slurs and threatening to come back and kill the victim's family.

When Volusia County sheriff's deputies spoke to Parkinson, he "continued to refer to the victim using racial slurs."

On June 28, also in Volusia County, a 21-year-old man was arrested on hate crime charges after he pulled up alongside a Black family at an intersection and yelled, "I will kill you n*****."

Parkinson also faces a hate crime enhancement to an assault charge, making it a first-degree misdemeanor. He was legally carrying the weapon.

Sheriff Mike Chitwood said in response to the latest incident: "I'll say it again: We are not going to tolerate this kind of behavior in Volusia County,. In case the message wasn't clear enough, I want everyone to know this Sheriff's Office will not give a free pass to racist, bigoted criminal acts that seek to intimidate others out of hatred and ignorance."