A Ponte Vedra Beach physician and longtime resident of the exclusive Sawgrass community was arrested Saturday evening after allegedly firing a gun during a road rage confrontation with a group of local high school athletes, The Citizen has learned.
Dr. Bruce L. Mitchell, 67, who served as director of Hospital Medicine at Emory University according to his LinkedIn profile, now faces two felony charges after deputies say he discharged a firearm from his vehicle at the teenagers during a chaotic chase.
Before joining Emory, Mitchell worked at the the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, for 14 years, according to a professional biography.
According to court papers, the confrontation began around 5:15 p.m., when five teenage boys — all student-athletes at a private Jacksonville high school — were driving along A1A in Ponte Vedra Beach.
The Citizen is not releasing their names because they are minors. Mitchell didn’t return a request for comment.
The quintet admitted to deputies that they were “throwing cheese” out of their vehicle windows as a prank while waiting at a light at Ponte Vedra Boulevard and Sawgrass Drive East, but what followed didn’t induce any chuckles.
A black Range Rover, later identified as Mitchell’s vehicle, allegedly began tailing the teens aggressively, swerving across lanes and briefly swerving out of the roadway to get closer to the terrified targets.
The teens then reported seeing Mitchell brandish a black pistol and yell something at them before squeezing off a round in the air.
As his friends ducked down in their seats, the driver told police that he hit the gas because he “didn’t want to die.”
Fearing they were about to be shot or run off the road, the teens continued to speed down A1A, weaving through traffic and attempting to evade the SUV.
One of the teens told cops that he “was in fear for his and his friends’ lives” during Mitchell’s pursuit and that they called 911 during the chase.
The physician stopped trailing the group after spotting police cruisers in the area and began driving in a different direction.
Deputies conducted a felony traffic stop on the Range Rover shortly afterward.
Mitchell allegedly exited his vehicle without being asked, documents show.
A pair of officers “pointed our agency-issued firearms at the subject,” papers state. “I then gave loud verbal commands to walk backwards to the sound of my voice,” a deputy wrote in a report.
Mitchell complied, and was taken into custody.
A search of his vehicle uncovered a black Sig Sauer pistol in the glovebox, a loaded magazine on the front passenger seat, and two loose live rounds, including one ejected onto the floorboard and another on the seat, papers state.
Deputies reported that Mitchell said at one point that “they shot at me first” before invoking his right to remain silent.
No weapons were found in the teens’ vehicle, and investigators said they found no evidence to support Mitchell’s claim.
The five teens were interviewed by police at the Mickler’s Beach parking lot and gave sworn statements .
Each participated in a positive identification of Mitchell and his vehicle at the scene.
The doctor was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill and discharge of a firearm from a vehicle, both felony offenses under Florida law.
He was booked into the St. Johns County Jail and later released on bond.
Mitchell lives in Sawgrass with his wife, a Harvard graduate and senior executive at Cox Communications.
Emory University didn’t immediately return an email request for comment. A spokesperson for Mayo Clinic said Mitchell’s employment there ended in late 2009.
“We’re aware of media reports of current charges against him, which are unrelated to his past employment with us,” the spokesperson added.
