SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – A dispute between two passengers on a Greyhound bus led to a male stabbing a female, then barricading himself onboard. San Antonio police were alerted to the incident by passengers as they deboarded the four-hour trip from Dallas.
According to San Antonio Police Captain Eric Hightower, officers were told that the man had a knife. They boarded and safely evacuated the remaining passengers and the injured woman, who was transported to a hospital for treatment. Officers were not able to immediately remove the suspect.
The suspect did not respond to officer’s commands and barricaded himself inside the bus. Hostage negotiators were called to the scene and communicated with him for two-and-a-half hours. When he finally began to exit the bus, he was still holding the knife and was struck by beanbags fired by police. After dropping the knife, he left the bus under his own power.
The victim, a woman in her 30s, was listed in stable condition Thursday night. The man, identified only as a 33-year-old, was treated at the scene for injuries sustained from the beanbags and is facing charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The investigation, which included interviews with many of the 30 or so passengers on-board during the incident, revealed that a dispute occurred between the two and escalated to physical violence.
What would you do to defend yourself on a mode of public or private transportation if you were not allowed to carry your defensive firearm? According to Greyhound’s website, firearms are not allowed on their busses…but neither are knives, razor blades, box cutters, meat cleavers, sabers, swords or ice axes/picks. Situational awareness and conflict avoidance are two good tools, but what if they fail and you find yourself the target of an armed assailant?
