Inset: Bruce Rodriguez (GoFundMe). Background: The Culver CityBus Rodriguez was driving in Los Angeles County, California, when he was fatally shot (KNBC).
A California father working as a bus operator was fatally shot by a passenger after he could not immediately stop the vehicle because of congested traffic, prosecutors said.
Jose Antonio Zayas, 55, allegedly took his bicycle from the bus’s front rack and ran from the scene after shooting 42-year-old Culver CityBus driver Bruce Rodriguez on the night of Oct. 1, according to a Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office news release. Investigators located Zayas the next day. He faces a murder charge with a special-circumstance allegation involving the killing of a transportation worker, an allegation that he personally used a firearm and a separate count of being a felon in possession of a gun.
“Bruce Rodriguez was a valued colleague, a beloved father and husband who was tragically killed by a passenger aboard his bus,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said. “People relied on him every day to get them to where they needed to go. Our transit systems must be safe for every driver, commuter and community member, and this office will hold individuals fully accountable if they brazenly and violently break the law and shatter that sense of safety.”
The shooting happened at about 5 p.m. on South Centinela Avenue in Los Angeles’ Mar Vista neighborhood, prosecutors said. Zayas allegedly became angry after asking to leave the bus and pulled out a firearm when Rodriguez did not stop.
According to prosecutors, Rodriguez could not safely pull over because the bus was caught in heavy traffic and its position on the road prevented an immediate stop. Zayas allegedly then fired several rounds at the driver.
Rodriguez was found unresponsive in the driver’s seat near Centinela Avenue and Washington Boulevard. Emergency responders took him to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
An FBI task force working alongside the LAPD Gang and Narcotics Division arrested Zayas the following afternoon. He appeared in court earlier this week and is scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 5.
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Rodriguez is survived by his wife and their two sons, who are 6 months and 3 years old.
At a Saturday vigil attended by hundreds, Rodriguez’s wife, Sandy Sanchez, remembered how devoted he was to their family. “Bruce loved being a dad to our two little boys,” she said. “He worked hard to care for us. For 12 years, he worked hard for the city of Culver City as a bus driver.”
Culver City Mayor Freddy Puza described Rodriguez as an important part of the community and said bus operations were halted over the weekend following the fatal shooting.
“We have lost a deeply valued member of our city family to a senseless act of violence,” Puza said.
Los Angeles City Council member Traci Park, who represents Mar Vista, is urging officials to strengthen safety measures for transit employees. She pointed to at least 72 reported assaults involving bus and train operators last year.
“This was a senseless and brutal act that took the life of a man simply doing his job and serving our community,” Park said in a statement Wednesday.
If convicted on all charges, Zayas could be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.