Miami-Dade County bus driver shoots 2 passengers dead after argument, police say
Miami Gardens police have confirmed two men are dead after a Miami-Dade public transit bus driver opened fire following an argument just before 3 a.m. on March 30. The driver is in custody.
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MIAMI (WFOR) — Miami Gardens police have confirmed two men are dead after a Miami-Dade public transit bus driver opened fire following an argument just before 3 a.m. Sunday morning. The driver is in custody.
Miami Gardens units responded to a call regarding a disturbance on a transit bus early Sunday morning and closed off most of a shopping center on NW 183rd Street and NW 7th Avenue.
The initial police report revealed that the bus driver became involved in an altercation with two passengers. During the incident, the driver shot the passengers, according to the report.
The two victims were transported to Aventura Hospital, where they were later pronounced dead.
A man who identified himself as Wave God told CBS News he heard gunshots ring out at the scene.
“I heard six shots,” he said. “I do not like the violence that’s going on in my neighborhoods.”
He added: “That’s the craziest thing I ever could heard of.”
Police said the bus wasn’t moving when this happened. Authorities added that the driver wasn’t shot at and are still looking into why the driver decided to shoot the passengers.
Officials said the driver was heading on a routine route and say this is an isolated incident.
“I don’t think the community needs to be frightened, said Diana Delgado, a spokeswoman for the Miami Gardens Police Department. “This was a disturbance that took place between the driver and the victim. At this time we don’t have the full information to say that our community or any passengers need to be frightened of taking a bus.”
Miami-Dade’s Department of Transportation and Public Works spokesperson Juan Mendieta told CBS News Miami partners at the Miami Herald that guns are not allowed as a self-defense measure for county bus drivers.
“Transit operators are not allowed to be armed,” he explained on Sunday.
County Commissioner Eileen Higgins, chair of the county’s transportation committee, said she was “heartbroken” by the deaths.
The shooting aboard a Metrobus remains under investigation. Mendieta said the Department of Transportation and Public Works is fully cooperating with law enforcement.
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