HINGHAM, Mass. — A 60-year-old Hingham man accused of firing a gun at a driver in a road rage incident in a library parking lot was arraigned on multiple charges Friday.
Steven License was arraigned at South Shore Hospital and held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing on Wednesday.
License was charged with assault with intent to murder, two counts of assault and battery with a firearm, assault with a dangerous weapon, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building and disorderly conduct.
Police say the incident began after License’s wife, who was driving the couple’s car on Route 228 around 4:30 Thursday afternoon, tossed a tissue out the window.
License’s wife told police the victim, who was driving a truck behind them, began tailgating them.
The victim, who left the scene but contacted police late Thursday night, told investigators, “he is extremely opposed to littering and cares for the environment and can’t tolerate when people litter,” according to the police report.
The victim also told police his “one mistake was… I just kept following him.”
Both drivers pulled into the parking lot of the Hingham Public Library, where surveillance video shows the two in a heated argument.
License told police he fired shots from his passenger window because what started as a pushing match turned into the victim hitting his wife.
However, investigators reviewing library surveillance video and interviewing witnesses found no evidence of such physical contact.
In fact, police say the victim was walking back to his truck when the shots were fired.
The victim told police License’s wife had pushed him away as he tried to walk around their car to get the license plate number.
“Right when he saw the firearm, [License’s wife] was still pushing him and he pushed her away in order to return to his vehicle at a faster pace,” the police report says of the victim’s statement. “Quickly after he pushed [her] away, he heard ‘the bullet fly by my ear. I heard the crack.’”
The bullets did not strike anyone or any nearby buildings.
“Steven License’s actions, by firing shots at [the victim] did not amount to a life-saving initiative as his wife was never placed in physical harm,” police said.
License was treated at the hospital for “stress-related symptoms” and a “bloody abrasion on his left hand in the webbing between his thumb and index finger.”
Police say License had a current license to carry at the time of the incident.
The police report states that License’s LTC was suspended in 2022 and about 50 guns were removed from the home.
Boston 25 News spoke with the victim who was shaken up by the incident and declined to comment due to the pending court case.
Boston 25 News was not able to make contact with License’s wife Friday.
The incident remains under investigation.
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