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Man mistakes van for Amber Alert vehicle, rams, shoots it, police say

Matthew Golden, 41, rammed and shot at a van thinking it was involved in an Amber Alert, police said. 

ALTOONA, Iowa — A man, thinking a van was involved in an Amber Alert, rammed, then fired gunshots at it Tuesday, police said.

An Amber Alert was issued at 1:18 a.m. for a 2006 Hyundai Sonata with two missing children from Toronto, Iowa, not a white panel van, which Matthew Golden saw and called police about, according to the Des Moines Register.

He followed the van then rammed it with his Toyota Sequoia, then shouted commands at the driver, investigators said.

Dispatchers told Golden to stop. However, he went into his vehicle, got a handgun and fired two shots at the driver’s side of the van, according to police.

The van's driver, who is from Florida and was traveling alone to Illinois, also called 911, where dispatchers told him to take cover, according to the Des Moines Register.

"It's no different than what we tell police officers who aren't working: Your eyes are our best resources, not your actions," police chief Greg Stallman told the Des Moines Register. "If you see something, say something. But we don't necessarily want you to act on it."

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Golden was arrested and charged with assault with intent to inflict serious injury, intimidation with a dangerous weapon and possession of marijuana, according to police. He was being held on $23,000 bond.