A student on a Prince George’s County, Maryland, school bus was reportedly attacked Monday afternoon by three people who boarded the bus.
Prince George’s County police said it happened just before 5 p.m. near Iverson Street and Sutler Drive.
Martin Diggs, president of ACE-AFSCME local 2250, which represents school support staff including bus drivers, said the driver and a bus aide were stopping to drop off their final student from Prince George’s County Alternative Middle School in Suitland when they believe three young people boarded the bus.
According to Diggs, the three rushed past the bus aide and pulled the student to the back of the bus.
“One of the three assailants, they had a gun on them, and they fired the gun three times but for some reason, by the grace of the God, the gun did not fire,” Diggs said.
Diggs said the bus driver called over their radio for help, and while doing that, two of the attackers left the bus. Diggs said the suspect, who remained on board, continued to fight the student.
While police are not releasing the details of the attack, or the possible ages of the attackers, they did confirm one of the three suspects was armed. So far, no arrests have been made.
Partners at 7News first reported the story, and sources told reporter Brad Bell that the event was caught on a camera inside the bus.
Diggs said the bus driver is “totally terrified” because of what took place.
“She doesn’t even want to get back on the bus because she doesn’t know what’s going to happen,” Diggs said.
He said her concern is that the attackers may remember the bus number and want to harm her.
“We are horrified by this incident and grateful that no lives were lost,” Prince George’s County schools spokesperson Meghan Gebreselassie said in an emailed statement.
Gebreselassie said the school system is working with law enforcement to investigate what took place.
“Our highest priority is keeping students, staff and families safe inside Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS) classrooms, on school grounds and school buses,” Gebreselassie said.
Diggs said while he realizes this is an isolated incident, he does feel the school system can do much more to keep support staff at the schools safe.
“We don’t want to end up, the schoolhouse or the bus lot, to end up being a graveyard for our students,” Diggs said.
