The Charlotte Area Transit System is sharing surveillance video from inside one of its buses after a shootout between a passenger and the bus driver.
The shooting happened on May 18 on Outlets Boulevard, which is near the Charlotte Premium Outlets in Steele Creek.
According to CATS, the incident started when a passenger started a verbal argument with the bus driver. The passenger then pulled out a gun, and the bus operator also pulled out a gun, and they both shot at each other, CATS said.
In court, Channel 9 learned the passenger, 22-year-old Omarri Shariff Tobias, allegedly tried to ride the bus without paying, which prosecutors said helped lead to the confrontation.
Four different angles of the newly released video show two other innocent passengers onboard when it all unfolds.
Although the videos are hard to watch, Tobias walks up to the driver and asks to be let off the bus. The driver, David Fullard, tells him it’s not a designated stop and motions for him to get back. An argument then starts.
At one point, Tobias can be heard threatening Fullard.
“I dare you. Touch me,” he said. “I dare you to touch me. I’m going to pop your [expletive]!”
The passenger steps back and can be seen pulling out a handgun. Seconds later, he steps back up. The driver sees the gun, pulls out his own, and opens fire. The initial shootout happens while the bus is still in motion. The bus then hops a curb and comes to a stop.
Video below:
He might have lost his job but he gets to keep his life thanks to the second amendment!
Bus drivers, employed by city contractor RATPDev, are not allowed to have weapons while they are working, Cagle the spokesperson of CATS said. He confirmed that the driver’s contarct has been terminated.
Both the driver, identified as David Fuller, and the passenger, 22-year-old Omarri Shariff Tobias, were taken to the hospital with injuries, Cagle said. There were two other passengers on the bus at the time, he said.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department charged Tobias with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injuries, communicating threats, and carrying a concealed firearm.
“Possession of a firearm or other weapon is prohibited” by employees with the transit system, Cagle said. He said for a driver to be carrying a gun was a “dismissal violation.”
Cagle said CATS plans to increase training for drivers on how to deescalate tense situations.
“Clearly, it is always better to head off these confrontations through deescalation. In this instance, that didn’t happen,” he said.
“Gun violence is pervasive throughout the community and CATS is not immune to that,” Cagle said.
The driver wasn’t charged with any crimes related to the shootout and had concealed carry permit.
