A Tampa bus driver is fatally stabbed by a runner

May 19, 2019, 15:05 UTC

By David K. Li

A bus driver in Tampa, Florida, was stabbed to death by a cyclist, who was later caught fleeing police by the police, authorities said on Sunday.

The attack took place around 16 hours. On Saturday, aboard a bus traveling south on North Nebraska Avenue, between East Lotus Avenue and East Castle Court, Tampa Police spokesman Stephen Hegarty told NBC News.

The suspect quarreled with the operator before stabbing him, authorities said.

He then jumped off the bus and headed for Interstate 275, parallel to Nebraska Avenue, witnesses told the police. The officers then found a man, later identified as Justin Ryan McGriff, who matched the description of the witnesses and who approached him, according to Hegarty.

McGriff, 35, fled and rushed to the highway where he was arrested, police said. He is suspected of resisting arrest, but other charges are likely to be filed, officials said.

The driver of the killed bus was not immediately identified.

Benjamin Limmer, CEO of Hillsborough Area Regional Transit (HART), said his agency was working closely with the police to trace Saturday's tragic events. There is a safety video on board the bus that the police are currently reviewing.

"We are devastated by the tragic events that took place today involving our HART bus operator, and we are working with the Tampa Police Department as part of its investigation into this appalling case," Limmer said. a statement released Saturday. "We offer our thoughts and prayers to the family and friends of the bus operator, as well as to all our HART colleagues."

The assassination took place on the MetroRapid line of HART, one of the busiest north-south links in the system.