3 people, including bus driver transporting 12 elderly people, wounded by gunfire in Olney
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The driver of a private bus carrying a dozen elderly people was hit in a shooting Thursday that wounded two other men, leaving one in extremely critical condition, according to police.
Around 9 a.m., investigators from the Shooting Investigation Division were serving a warrant on the 400 block of Ashdale Street in Philadelphia's Olney neighborhood when they heard gunshots from about two blocks away.
The district said three schools were locked down throughout the morning.
The officers ran toward the sound and found a 32-year-old man lying in an alley near 2nd and Ashdale Streets bleeding heavily from a gunshot wound to his head.
A bus passing through the area was also hit with gunfire from that shooting, Philadelphia police Inspector D F Pace said.
The driver was transporting about 12 elderly passengers from a senior care facility when the bus was caught in the crossfire, striking him.
The driver continued driving for about a half mile before he pulled over around Roosevelt Boulevard and 9th Street. The driver was rushed to Temple University Hospital and was listed in stable condition.
The driver was somehow able to keep driving and get his passengers to safety.
"It's always disconcerting when you have a situation like that…this sort of thing happens," Pace said.
The driver's side window of the bus was blown out and there were several bullet holes on the hood.
Parents told CBS News Philadelphia they were terrified.
"A lot of police officers out here," father Orlando Vargas said. "You couldn't go anywhere."
Vargas has lived in the neighborhood for 30 years and had just taken his 4-year-old daughter to school.
"There's a big puddle of blood in the alley, a lot of blood back there," Vargas said.
Another neighbor who did not want to be identified but allowed CBS Philadelphia to record her voice said her kids already at school heard the crack of bullets.
"She's crying and shaken up," the neighbor said. "Crazy experience for both my kids."
No passengers were hurt and another bus came to bring them to their next location.
A third victim connected to the shooting walked into Temple University Hospital later, Pace said.
Police have not identified the victim found in the alley or the walk-in victim.
Investigators believe multiple shooters were involved in the incident. About 15-16 shell casings were found at the scene.
Police said the warrant and the triple shooting were unrelated.
Investigators are now looking at surveillance cameras around the area to figure out who is responsible.
