BATON ROUGE- A bullet hole was left in the door handle of Ashley Mitchell's car on Sunday after someone was tailgating her and decided to pull a gun.

"It sounded like a rock hit my car, and when I got out to see what it was, it was a bullet hole in my car, I was in total shock," Mitchell told the WBRZ Investigative Unit Monday.

Mitchell was driving her two children to the store when the shooting happened. All of them are okay.

The chilling story about road rage turning into gunfire is why the FRC shooting range in Baton Rouge wants to help by offering classes that instruct drivers on what to do if someone shoots at them near their car.

Range master John Hanchey says what happened to Mitchell is another reminder of why it's important to know how to defend yourself.

"Unfortunately, we have a bunch of feral adolescents in Baton Rouge running around who have gotten a hold of firearms. They have no respect for themselves or the community, and they are wreaking havoc," Hanchey told WBRZ.

Some courses at FRC teach you what to do during a carjacking, if someone tries to attack you at a gas station, or even how to deal with aggressive panhandlers in a parking lot.

Hanchey says pulling your gun is never the first option, but sometimes you have to.

"We teach people if someone is tailgating, rather than confronting them, pull over to the side. She (Mitchell) did that. Obviously, it wasn't enough for this jackwad, and decided to take a shot at her anyways," Hanchey said.

Road rage shootings have turned deadly in the past. Back in 2021, a 40-year-old man was shot and killed in the Benny's parking lot on Perkins Road. More recently, Brittany Weiss spoke to a woman whose car was shot on the interstate while sitting in traffic. She was not hurt in the shooting.

Hanchey says he wants to make sure everyone has the tools necessary to get out of these situations safely.

They also tell WBRZ they will offer Mitchell a free self-defense course if she is interested.