Freeway shooting on Highway 24 near Orinda, CHP reports

ORINDA, Calif. - The California Highway Patrol is investigating a freeway shooting on Highway 24 near Orinda on Wednesday.

The CHP said officers are investigating the area between Fish Ranch and Wilder roads where shots rang out at around 10:30 a.m. 

All lanes on westbound Highway 24 were temporarily closed, but reopened just before noon. During the closure, CHP officers scoured the highway for evidence. 

A witness called 911 and reported seeing a passenger in a white Hyundai fire at least five shots at a black Mercedes before the Hyundai continued west through the Caldecott Tunnel into Oakland. The witness said both cars had been going 100 miles an hour. 

Aerial footage above the scene showed a white SUV on the shoulder of the highway with a shattered rear window.

There were no reports of injuries, but there was some collateral damage. 

A Subaru Forester got caught in the gunfire. The KTVU crew at the scene watched as a man and a woman drove off in the car. Its windows were shattered as a result of the shooting. 

No arrests have been reported and a motive for the shooting is not yet known. 

Previous freeway shootings

What we know:

On Tuesday, gunfire rang out on southbound Interstate 880 near 16th Avenue.

According to the CHP, reports came in around 7:30 a.m. of a person brandishing a firearm and firing into another vehicle on the freeway.

One day later, CHP Oakland announced they arrested a 19-year-old suspect, identified as Jonathan Julian Barragan Padilla of Oakland, in connection to this shooting. Alameda County prosecutors have charged him with assault with a firearm and shooting at and from a car.

No injuries were reported in that incident and police said they made contact with the victim and are investigating the altercation.

Padilla has been booked into Santa Rita Jail. A search warrant was obtained for Padilla's home. There, detectives found a loaded handgun, which was believed to have been used in the shooting. 

Last Tuesday, a person was wounded in a shooting on Highway 24 on the Oakland side of the highway, near the Broadway exit.

CHP spokesperson, Officer Adib Zeid, said the victim was self-transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries to both legs. 

The shooter got away.

Highway 24 is one of the main connectors between Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. Any incident, including a shooting, often jams the commute. 

What they're saying:

"Someone might have followed somebody on the freeway for a while and have chosen to shoot them on the freeway, knowing that it's easier to get away," said Thomas Plante, a psychology professor at Santa Clara University. 

Professor Plante said freeway shootings reflect a lack of impulse control with those firing guns and not caring about the damage that can result.

"If you've got that handy, and you're upset about something, whether it's road rage or something else, it just takes a fraction of a second to act on that impulse," said Plante. 

Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan