Bucks man shot by officer is a serial road-rage antagonist who threatened driver with a gun, police say

A Bucks County couple were going about their normal routine and enjoying their evening on Saturday when a gun-toting, serial road-rage antagonist pointed his weapon at them as they drove along Route 13 in Bensalem, police said Monday.

And when John Mathis, 44, refused to leave the couple alone, a police officer had to physically block him from his intended victims with a patrol car to get him to stop, Bensalem Township Public Safety Director William McVey said.

Mathis refused to drop his weapon, police said, and the officer shot him.

Mathis, of Levittown, was struck multiple times and taken to Jefferson Torresdale Medical Center, where he remained in stable condition Monday. He has yet to be charged in connection with the incident, but officials say he will face prosecution for threatening both the couple and the officer with a handgun.

Mathis was unable to legally possess a gun because of previous felony convictions.

“Mr. Mathis should be behind bars,” McVey said. “This is someone who routinely has victimized people in Bucks County, and hopefully that has come to an end.”

The officer, whom McVey did not identify, has been placed on administrative leave while the shooting is investigated by the district attorney’s office. McVey declined to say how long the officer has worked for Bensalem, but described him as a veteran of the force who used his training to protect the public.

Mathis has a long criminal history in Bucks County dating back to 2001 for incidents similar to his weekend encounter with the Bensalem officer, including multiple convictions for fleeing from police. His record also includes convictions for assault, conspiracy, and burglary.

Last week, Mathis was charged — but had not yet been arrested — in a separate road-rage incident in Bristol on July 27, police said. After those charges were filed, a county judge issued a bench warrant for Mathis for failing to appear in a third road-rage incident from 2023.

Those two cases, McVey said, followed a similar pattern to Saturday’s incident.

In the latest case, just before 6 p.m. Saturday, a couple driving on Bristol Pike near Biddle Lane called 911 to report that a motorcyclist had been acting aggressively toward them, police said. He was tailgating them, honking his horn, and driving dangerously close to their vehicle.

When the two vehicles were stopped at a nearby red light, the motorcyclist — later identified as Mathis — pointed a handgun at the driver’s head and began to follow the vehicle.

When the Bensalem officer arrived, he was able to maneuver his police car between the two. Mathis then sharply accelerated, in an apparent attempt to escape, and crashed into the officer’s car, according to McVey.

The officer saw Mathis was holding a gun in his right hand, and shot him when he ignored commands to drop the weapon.