CHP: 1 dead, 5 wounded in shooting on Greyhound bus near Grapevine

LEBEC, Calif. (KUSI) — A man shot six people, one fatally, aboard a Greyhound bus headed from Los Angeles to the Bay area on Interstate 5 Monday and was taken into custody, authorities said.

The shooting was reported at 1:27 a.m. on the northbound 5 near Fort Tejon Road in Kern County, according to California Highway Patrol spokesman Steve Loftus. The bus stopped at the Grapevine Road exit.

“Numerous” passengers on the bus called 911 to report the active shooter situation, Loftus said.

There were 42 passengers on the bus along with the driver, said CHP Sgt. Brian Pennings.

A 51-year-old woman from Colombia died aboard the bus, Pennings said. Her name was withheld, pending notification of her relatives.

The five other wounded passengers were transported for hospital treatment, two of them in serious condition, Pennings said.

Following the shooting, the driver pulled over on the freeway shoulder and the suspect got off, leaving the handgun behind, Pennings said.

The bus then continued, exiting the freeway and stopping at a Valero gas station in Lebec, where the area was cordoned off with caution tape, according to KBAK Fox58 in Bakersfield.

Authorities arrested the suspect on the freeway shoulder near where he had gotten off the bus. The suspect’s name was not immediately released, nor was his motive.

Pennings praised the bus driver for his response to the gunfire.

“His (the bus driver) actions were very appropriate and one could say heroic in the sense that he immediately pulled to the right shoulder, and the sequence of events that ultimately resulted in the suspect exiting the bus without the weapon, the bus driver was instrumental in all of that,” Pennings said.

He added that authorities recovered a semi-automatic 9 mm pistol and several extra magazines.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone and every family member impacted by the incident today,” Crystal Booker of Greyhound said in a statement. “We are gathering details. … What we do know at this time is that the incident involved schedule 6848-1, traveling from Los Angeles to San Francisco …”

Arrangements were being made to take the remaining passengers to their destinations.