UniteGPS – Police have authorized a search warrant on Feb. 14 to identify the person responsible for the stray bullet striking a Minneapolis school bus driver in the face last week. According to coverage, the injured bus driver was reportedly finishing his route on Girard Avenue and 37th Avenue on Feb. 8 with three students under 10 years of age on board when gunfire erupted.
The driver reportedly told law enforcement that he originally stopped behind two vehicles: a Chevy Impala and Dodge Challenger. Specifically, the Impala driver pulled out a gun when a black Dodge Challenger pulled up, eventually both drivers leaving their vehicles to fire their weapons.
At 2:15 PM police responded to the incident and found the driver with a head injury, eventually rushing him to the hospital where he has since recovered. There was also a bullet hole in the front windshield and no injured students.
Authorities are currently using interviews and video footage to identify the shooter who was driving a Chevy Impala with his son when the incident occurred.
Minneapolis school bus driver shooting responses
Attorney and anti-gun violence advocate Andrew Weinstein took to Twitter, saying “A school bus driver in Minnesota was shot in the head on Wednesday while young children were on board. In other countries, that would dominate the national news. In America, it’s just another day.”
Weinstein cited other recent gun violence incidents at schools over his Twitter, such as students robbed at gunpoint while waiting at the bus stop in El Mirage, Arizona earlier this month. Another February shooting took place in North Carolina when a bus carrying 12 middle school students was “fired upon,” according to officials.
Concerning for the whole school community, these sort of headlines also have transportation leaders shaking their heads. Earlier this week, for example, police arrested a Florida school bus driver for operating four times over the legal alcohol limit.
“In so many aspects, it deeply saddens me to see that type of a headline,” Dr. Sara Croney, Superintendent at the School District of Maple in nearby Wisconsin, told UniteGPS. “But it just makes you really grateful that you live where you live.”