CATS bus driver shot in uptown Charlotte has died, police say. Search for gunman ongoing
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Shooting of a Charlotte bus driver
Ethan Rivera, a 41-year-old bus driver for Charlotte Area Transit System, died Feb. 12, 2022, a day after being shot aboard his CATS bus. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police say a road rage incident led to the shooting.
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A CATS bus driver died Saturday after being shot in uptown Charlotte Friday night, police said.
The driver, 41-year-old Ethan Rivera, was shot just after 9:30 p.m. in the 500 block of West Trade Street, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said in a news release late Saturday. That’s near the Greyhound bus station.
The bus had traveled off the road, police said.
MEDIC took Rivera to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries, police said. CMPD said the four passengers who were on the bus were not injured.
Police have not said if they have a suspect or know what prompted the shooting. The investigation is ongoing, and police had not provided additional updates as of Sunday morning.
Also Sunday, CATS issued its first statement about the deadly incident, stating, “(Rivera) was the victim of a senseless act of violence. Ethan was a public servant and valued member of the Charlotte community. We grieve with his family during this time.”
WCNC reported that the driver got into a “verbal altercation” with the shooter while stopped at a red light. An uptown resident said he heard what sounded like fireworks and then a crash, WSOC reported.
Police urge anyone with information about the shooting to call the CMPD homicide unit at 704-432-8477 or anonymously on the Crime Stoppers tip line at 704-334-1600.
Prior incidents of CATS and crime
The shooting was the latest incident involving an armed suspect and a CATS bus.
▪ In December, a suspect who fired a gun into a vehicle in uptown Charlotte tried boarding a bus with the weapon before being arrested, police said.
Several Charlotte-Mecklenburg police bike and foot patrol officers were at the intersection of Trade and Tryon streets when they heard gunshots. The officers saw a man shooting into a vehicle that was speeding away, the Observer reported at the time.
▪ Last February, a man stabbed two CATS bus passengers in Elizabeth with a machete, the Observer previously reported.
The riders were attacked in the 2100 block of East 7th Street. They were hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries. police said. Officers arrested 27-year-old Reginald Jakes on two counts of attempted murder.
▪ In 2019, a bus driver was shot while sitting in her bus near the uptown Transportation Center, the Observer reported at the time. Police arrested a suspect nearby, and said the shooting may have been domestic-related.
This is a developing story.
This story was originally published February 12, 2022 at 8:26 AM.
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