(File Photo by liver Helbig, Getty Images)
NORTH CHARLESTON — A South Carolina legislator hopes to raise awareness after he said a man threatened him with a gun in a road rage incident in North Charleston.
Rep. J.A. Moore told the SC Daily Gazette he was passing time in the Park Circle neighborhood around 1 p.m. Tuesday, waiting until he could pick up his daughter from her first day of kindergarten at a school just a couple of miles away.
The North Charleston Democrat said he was waiting for a driver to pull out of a parking spot so he could pull in, when a man driving a black truck pulled into the spot ahead of Moore.
Moore, a 39-year-old chef, admits rolling down the window and swearing at the man, who was a stranger to Moore.
In response, the 66-year-old man allegedly pulled out a handgun, according to statements Moore made to the Daily Gazette and a North Charleston Police Department officer.
“It was just shocking for someone to do that over a parking spot,” Moore told the Daily Gazette. “I could have gotten killed. I could have died at that moment, and the first memory my daughter could have had of her going to school is that her father died on the way to pick her up.”
Moore said he then tried to stay calm and not make any sudden movements until the man put the gun down. Moore then took a photo of the man and photo of his license plate before calling police.
Police arrived and found the man inside one of the nearby restaurants, according to the police report. Officers said the man first denied the altercation but then admitted to a verbal argument after they showed him the photos of himself.
The man denied pointing a handgun at Moore, according to the report.
The report notes there were no witnesses and no security footage available. It also makes no mention of officers asking the man if they can look in his vehicle for a gun.
“Fortunately for me, I didn’t do anything hasty, and fortunately, my daughter was not in the car,” Moore said.
Moore said officers told him he would need to contact a police department detective to prompt further investigation and pursue charges because police did not have enough evidence in that moment to arrest the man.
Moore also sent out a press statement following the incident. He told the Daily Gazette he hopes by speaking publicly about the experience it will spark conversations within the community.
“I don’t want to get into a policy conversation in this moment,” he said.
Moore was among the most vocal critics of a proposal signed into law this year that allows adults to carry a handgun without a permit , whether concealed or openly displayed. During the House floor debate last year , he scolded Republicans for making it easier for people to have guns in public places.
As for what he said happened Tuesday, Moore questioned the man’s response: “Why did he feel emboldened enough to pull out a gun over something so small? I don’t know his reason.”
Moore and his family are no strangers to gun violence.
His sister was among the nine parishioners massacred by an avowed white supremacist while they were gathered for an evening Bible study at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston on July 17, 2025.
His sister’s death is part of what inspired Moore to run for office.
“I just hate that this happened,” Moore said of his own altercation. “These are the kind of conversations we need to have about the culture in this country of handling disputes through gun violence.”
Moore, first elected to the House in 2018, trounced his Democratic challenger in June, winning the primary with 87% of the vote. He faces a Republican in November for the seat representing parts of Charleston and Berkeley counties.
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