A daytime shooting on a Metro Transit bus in Dartmouth is being called both ‘brazen’ and ‘concerning’ by police.
Just before 1 p.m. Thursday, Halifax Regional Police were called to Pinecrest Drive in Dartmouth after a report of shots being fired on the No. 72 Portland Hills bus.
“It’s extremely concerning,” said police spokesman Const. Pierre Bourdages. “You’re talking about an act that was very brazen… in broad daylight, on a travelling bus. There were four (other) passengers on board but there could have easily been more than that.”
Police say three teenagers on the bus got into a verbal dispute and started fighting. The bus pulled over in the 100 block of Pinecrest Drive and one of the teens began shooting. No one was hurt.
All three teens got off the bus and ran away, police say.
Nakita Nicholas lives on Pinecrest Drive and said it was ‘scary’ something like this could happen on a bus.
“I feel kind of sketchy,” Nicholas said.
A 16-year-old male was taken into custody at a Dartmouth home around 4:30 p.m., and by late Thursday evening police alleged he was the shooter and charged him with various firearm offences.
He is scheduled to appear in Halifax youth court on Friday.
A second teen, 18, was arrested overnight and is charged with assault, creating a disturbance and breach of a court order. He will appear in Dartmouth provincial courtroom on Friday.
The third teen, described as a female aged 16 or 17, hasn’t been located.
Police are still looking to track down the other two individuals. They are described as a white male youth and a black female youth, both aged 16 to 17.
Bourdages said the suspect was taken into custody after reviewing the camera tape onboard the bus.
“That’s the great thing about Metro Transit … every bus is equipped with very high quality video inside and out,” Bourdages said.
“Reviewing these will be invaluable in actually determining what happened.”
HRM spokesperson Michaelyn Thompson said there are video cameras on all buses and terminals.
“If you commit a crime on board transit or at one of its terminals, you will be caught on camera,” she said. — Metro Halifax
