It all started when a 45-year-old man chased desperately after a Route 33 SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia shortly before 5 p.m., hoping to catch his ride.
Watching the running man intently from inside the bus, police say, was a man in his late 50s or early 60s. The younger man must have thought he was in luck – the Route 33 bus stopped,
allowing him to hop on board. Police say he paid his fare and was immediately confronted by the man who’d been watching him.
The older man “began grabbing or shaking him, and asked him, ‘Where’s my money?’ Then he shot him twice in the head,” said Lt. Rich Brown of Central Detectives.
While the victim slumped to the floor, the irate gunman began screaming at the bus driver to stop and let him off, Brown said. He darted off at 22nd and York streets and supposedly boarded another SEPTA bus, although police have been unable to confirm that report.
Meanwhile, pandemonium ensued on the Route 33 bus as 20 to 30 passengers scrambled to the back of the vehicle, hastily trying to force open the doors. The 12-year-old girl was trampled and injured in the rush, suffering a sprained ankle, Brown said. She was being treated for bumps and bruises at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children last night. The other passengers all fled in a panic.
Remarkably, the gunshot victim, whose name was not released, was listed in stable condition at Temple University Hospital last night and was talking with detectives.
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