A harrowing video showed the incident on board a Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) bus that unfolded May 18, though the footage was just released. It began at around 11:15 a.m. on a mostly empty bus. There were only two other passengers aboard besides the aggressive rider.
As CATS interim CEO Brent Cagle described the scene, “the passenger produced a firearm. At some point as this altercation progressed, the operator stopped the bus or pulled the bus over and produced a firearm as well.”
According to reports, 22-year-old passenger Omarri Tobias became upset when the driver, David Fullard, would not let him off the bus between stops. ABC News wrote that Tobias told the driver, “I dare you. I dare you to touch me. I’m going to pop your a–.”
At that point the passenger allegedly produced a handgun and approached Fullard. The driver, obviously fearing for his life, drew his own weapon and opened fire.
Tobias returned fire, striking Fullard in his arm. Meanwhile, as frightened passengers scrambled for safety, Tobias was shot in the abdomen. Bullets shattered the plexiglass in the front of the bus, causing even more chaos as the drama unfolded.
Fullard managed to safely stop the bus and fired more rounds at Tobias as the passenger reportedly attempted to crawl towards the rear of the vehicle.
CATS did not hesitate to fire the wounded Fullard after the shootout. Officials said he did not appropriately attempt to deescalate the confrontation. It also said that the driver violated policy for having a weapon on the job.
Cagle told reporters, “We don’t want anyone possessing weapons on our vehicles.” He added that for an operator to be armed warrants a “dismissal violation.”
Local media quoted Fullard’s attorney, Ken Harris, as saying his client was armed because he did not feel safe on the job — for obvious reasons. “I hear it from a lot of my clients. What they want to do is do their job, but they also want to get home.”
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department filed charges against Tobias for assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injuries, communicating threats, and carrying a concealed weapon. They have not announced whether charges will also be filed against the driver.
There have been multiple safety issues with the CATS bus system. On Feb. 11, 2022, a bus driver was shot and killed in what was believed to be a road rage incident. Authorities charged Darian Dru Thavychith with the killing, and he remains behind bars.
A CATS streetcar was the scene of a stabbing on May 4.
Cagle said that drivers have multiple ways to communicate that there is an emergency on board. There is a radio that may be used to call for help along with two silent alarms. One enables the operations center to hear what is transpiring on the bus and the other engages a message on the outside of the vehicle asking people to contact the police.
Neither silent alarm was triggered on May 18 and there was no call for help.
In the driver’s defense, there may not have been an opportunity to resort to any of these actions. When an armed person is making verbal threats and then approaches you with a weapon drawn, it is probably not the best situation to grab a microphone and ask for assistance.
And imagine being a bus driver in a major U.S. city, especially one that has already seen multiple acts of random violence. Company policy is what it is, and perhaps officials had no choice but to terminate the driver. But he can hardly be blamed for being concerned about his safety, as this frightening incident proved.
As for being unemployed, in this case it beats the alternative. He can always find another job.
