Police were searching for a motive Monday after a Florida transit-bus driver shot two passengers dead in a Miami suburb over the weekend.
Officers from the Miami Gardens Police Department responded to a disturbance call near a shopping center at about 3 a.m. Sunday. They arrived to find two passengers with gunshot wounds in critical condition. The riders were flown to HCA Florida Aventura Hospital, where they were pronounced dead, WTVJ-TV reported.
Police cordoned off the entire shopping center for several hours before deeming there was no larger threat to the public, reported WFOR-TV. Authorities said the bus driver had not been shot at.
The altercation began when someone tried to board the bus toting a stolen bicycle, a witness told WPLG-TV. The passenger threatened the driver verbally, then reached into a bag. The driver pulled out a gun and fired six shots, the witness said, hitting not only the belligerent passenger but also an uninvolved man sitting nearby. The second victim was seemingly hit by a stray bullet, the witness said.
The men involved were not immediately identified. The driver had been detained but not charged as investigators sought more information.
Public safety officials called it an isolated incident.
“I don’t think the community needs to be frightened,” Miami Gardens Police Department spokeswoman Diana Delgado told WFOR. “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.”
Transit workers are not permitted to carry arms, Miami-Dade Department of Transportation and Public Works spokesman Juan Mendieta told The Miami Herald, adding that the matter was still being investigated and the department was “fully cooperating with law enforcement.”
The Transport Workers Union Local 291, which represents transit operators, said in a statement it was “working closely with investigators and county officials to understand exactly what happened and to support a full and transparent process.”