Surveillance footage of a bus sh*oting that occurred earlier this month in Charlotte when a passenger pulled a pistol was published on Friday. According to police and the Charlotte Area Transit System, a passenger and bus driver got into an altercation and fired sh*ts at each other on May 18 near the Charlotte Premium Outlets at Steele Creek.
The newly released video shows the passenger mocking the driver after he refused to let him off at a non-bus stop. It is unclear who fired first, but the video was broadcast by WSOC, the Observer’s news partner. CATS has confirmed that the driver, in this case, is David Fullard and that he can be heard telling the passenger to move back from the front of the vehicle and the door.
Public documents reveal that 22-year-old passenger Omarri Sharrif Tobias was arr*sted following a six-day hospital stay and held on a $250,000 bond on several assault allegations. A judge has banned him from using any form of Charlotte’s public transportation.
Here is the footage:
According to inmate records, this sh*oting led to his fifth arr*st in the past three years. CATS announced on Wednesday that Fullard had been fired and that new safety measures will be implemented throughout the city’s public transportation system.
WHAT IS THE VIDEO OF THE CATS SH*OTING SHOW?
The video’s audio description shows the driver telling Tobias to step back from the entrance and the front of the vehicle. I defy you. Tobias pleaded, “Touch me. Put your hands on me if you dare. I’m going to sock it to you!” Tobias is seen in the video taking out a gun. Even Fullard agrees with this.
There is a barrage of gunfire. The shield on the driver’s side is riddled with bullet holes. There is blood all over the floor in the bus entrance area. Tobias is seen on camera crawling toward the center of the bus, where a door is located. The footage shows Fullard pursuing Tobias, who he had obviously hurt during the original gunfight, as they make their way back to safety.
Tobias and another passenger took cover behind a large donation box, but the driver kept firing shots at them. Fortunately, nobody else on board was hurt. Brent Cagle, interim CEO of CATS, did not address the shooting until nearly a week later.
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Cagle stated during a press conference on Wednesday, “It’s never okay for passengers to assault drivers, to threaten drivers.” We recognize, however, that gun violence and other forms of violence are widespread in the area.
Buses in Charlotte, North Carolina, are equipped with two quiet alarms: one that lets security listen in on the bus’s internal conversations, and another that flashes “911 call police” on the vehicle’s outside. It has been determined that Fullard did not use either button. Ethan Rivera, a 41-year-old CATS driver, was fatally shot on the job in the year 2022.
Darian Dru Thavychith, 21, was arrested and accused of first-degree murder and discharging a firearm into a parked vehicle. If CATS’s planned capital project budget for 2024-2028 is approved, more than $5.5 million might be allotted for camera replacements, dispatch upgrades, and safety measures.
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