MINNEAPOLIS — A Minneapolis Public Schools bus driver was shot and injured while driving his route on Tuesday afternoon.
Minneapolis Police Public Information Officer John Elder said the driver was shot following an accident with another vehicle and sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
According to Minneapolis Public Schools, one student was on board and was not physically hurt. Elder said that student was sitting in the back of the bus at the time of the shooting.
The shooting happened near the junction of Interstate 94 west and Interstate 35W around 2:20 p.m. on Tuesday. Elder said Minnesota State Patrol responded to a report of a person outside of a car pointing a gun at the bus and shots being fired.
Elder said multiple shots were fired (as many as five) while the driver was sitting in the bus and that the suspect shot through the bus and struck the driver.
Preliminary information indicates that a school bus, which is a contracted service by the Minneapolis School District, and the suspect’s car made contact on the freeway. They both pulled to the shoulder and shots were fired into the bus by the suspect. Investigators are looking into what led up to the shooting.
The state patrol responded within a minute and took a suspect into custody. They recovered a handgun.
Elder said it's not yet clear what happened in the confrontation.
"This is horrific on so many levels. You have somebody shooting into a school bus, unknown if there's children in there. The driver of course is there. You have a shooting on a freeway, the backdrop for any of those bullets... there are so many cars, so many people back there and people are stranded in traffic because of the weather," Elder said.
The driver was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center and needs surgery but is expected to be fine.
Minneapolis Public Schools said the vehicle involved was a Septran bus driving a Minneapolis schools route, and Septran Inc confirmed the shooting to KARE 11.
The student who was on board was reunited with family shortly after the shooting and will receive follow-up support from the district, according to MPS.
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