RENTON, Wash. — A man is in critical condition after being shot outside the Renton Transit Center on Tuesday afternoon.
Just after 4:30 p.m., police responded to a shooting on Burnett Ave South.
Police say one man pulled out a gun and shot the other in the abdomen.
Investigators say the suspect ran off, hopped onto a King County Metro Bus and traveled about a mile north.
“Someone saw him get in and then it was radioed to the control center, pulled the operator over and then the person bailed off of the bus,” said ATU Local 587 President Greg Woodfill.
Woodfill told KIRO 7 he’s fed up that another shooting put their bus operators at risk.
“It’s stressful to come to work every day and not knowing whether you’re going to be involved with one of these,” he explained.
Renton Police arrested the suspect and found his gun soon after. But even then, Woodfill says their operators and passengers are frequently put in harm’s way.
" I’m very concerned about the mental health of our operators. Having said that, we’re fighting for the passengers too,” Woodfill said.
A 17-year-old has been arrested for the shooting.
He is being held in a juvenile detention center for first-degree assault and unlawful possession of a firearm.