A passenger on a Megabus that was heading north from Chicago has been hailed as a hero after he reportedly subdued an armed man who fired at least one shot minutes after the bus started its journey.
Kenneth Smith, 28, told the Chicago Tribune that he had just settled into his seat late Tuesday when a loud noise resounded through the bus. Smith was traveling to Minneapolis to visit his 6-year-old son.
“It was real loud,” Smith told WMAQ-TV. “We didn’t know what it was until we saw the gun.”
Police said the gunman discharged his weapon in the bathroom of the bus. He then approached the driver and allegedly began harassing her. A witness said it appeared the gunman also attempted to grab the steering wheel, per WMAQ-TV.
That’s when Smith intervened, confronting the man and telling him to return to his seat. The suspect reportedly did as he was told, but came back moments later, with a gun.
“He came back downstairs, he was grabbing at his hip, I had already seen that and I told him he was getting too close,” Smith told WMAQ-TV. “As he kept coming that’s when I rushed him, I choked him, he fell to the floor, the clip came out of the gun and that’s when I saw it so I pulled it out, gave it to my cousin and I held him down until the police arrived.”
According to WGN-TV, the bus stopped at the Des Plaines Oasis, where the gunman was taken into police custody. Police said charges are expected to be filed against the suspect.
Passengers on the Megabus praised Smith’s quick action.
“He saved us,” Ken Hasley told WMAQ-TV. “The bus could’ve crashed or anything the way that guy was aggravating the bus driver so that guy right there is a hero.”
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