A man on a bus in Brooklyn became aggressive after refusing to pay his bus fare, leading to a shooting incident on Tuesday, April 18.
At the beginning of rush hour in a busy Brooklyn neighborhood, around 6am, three inspectors from the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s (MTA) Eagle Team boarded the B-82 Select express bus. This type of bus requires a specific ticket purchased from a machine at the bus stop, which passengers are required to show on the bus if randomly asked. The inspectors were approaching passengers for proof of payment when one passenger refused to show a ticket and became angry.
The MTA employees escorted the passenger off the bus at a stop in East New York. As they were escorting the passenger toward a fare machine at the bus stop, he turned around suddenly and started firing at them. Thankfully, no one sustained significant injuries, but one of the employees was grazed on the leg. The transit workers described the suspect simply as a man with a backpack.
Janno Lieber, MTA Chairman and CEO, reported that the MTA worked alongside the police to identify and apprehend the suspect. Lieber added that the cameras on the buses aided investigators in identifying him.
Fare evasion has increased, with MTA data showing that almost 40% of passengers ride without paying their fares. Although some people sympathize with those who cannot afford the fare, this kind of behavior is not fair to the passengers who pay their way.
The pandemic has exacerbated the issue, with more passengers refusing to pay on MTA buses, which has led to concerns that fare evasion crackdowns may not be enough to prevent future incidents.
Lieber revealed that there have been at least five fare evasion incidents in the last two weeks where the New York Police Department arrested people with loaded guns. He explained that non-armed personnel on the Eagle Team had been useful in curbing these incidents, but the agency would not tolerate fare evaders shooting at MTA employees.
The current fare for the express bus, which requires a unique ticket, is $2.75. As the fare increases, people are worried that the situation may worsen, and they are unsure if enough is being done to prevent such events.
Samuel White, 49, was taken into custody and faces charges of attempted murder, criminal possession of a weapon, and reckless endangerment for the incident involving three MTA employees.
