ST. LOUIS – There is much more to the March 5 MetroBus shooting that the public hasn’t seen until now.
“There is a heck of a lot going on in the video,” North County Police Cooperative Major Ron Martin said. “You have two to three incidents happening all at the same time and that’s why we’re really asking for the public’s help.”
It all happened in about 20 seconds at the bus stop on Hanley Road near Olive Boulevard.
Passengers boarded the bus at 10:26 p.m. The soon-to-be victim walks on and appears in an agitated state as he boards without paying.
The bus driver can be heard on the video saying, “What’s going on, my man? Yo, you need the police or something?”
The man does not answer and proceeds to get uncomfortably close to another passenger, who moves away.
An object could be seen in the man’s hand.
“It’s a little bit distorted for us to be able to determine what’s in that person’s hand. It could be a blunt object. It could be a knife,” Martin said.
That man then lunged at the passenger who had moved away, and that is when the shooter responded.
Shell casings can be seen flying outside the bus, which were later collected from the street by police.
In the video, another man can be seen sitting in the back, ducking as shots were fired.
“When the dust settled, so to speak, he stood up and then he starts reaching in his bag and he starts loading up another firearm. So now there’s two people on the bus that are armed,” Martin explained.
The shooter then returned to the bus and shook the MetroBus driver’s hand. Police later found the person who was shot walking around, bleeding from shots to the leg and back.
“Unfortunately, that person is not being cooperative either. So, it’s making things very difficult for our investigators,” Martin said.
The whole situation is distressing to Jonathan Cobb, a former Metro Bus driver shot in the head in December 2021.
“I’m just praying that positivity comes their way, so everything can become more loving and caring before anything else happens,” Cobb reacted. “I’m guaranteeing and believing that I am going to be walking soon.”
Cobb defied the odds, not only surviving the impossible but also recording music he hopes will inspire others.
“It’s a blessing to be alive. God has given me so much opportunity so I’m just taking it one day at a time,” he added.
Police solved his case. The shooter is charged and awaiting trial. Cobb is asking the public to help police in the March 5 case, with the hope of getting answers that might calm the violence.
