3 buses shot at in Pasco leaving transit drivers worried about their safety

There’s growing concern this week from Ben Franklin Transit drivers after three buses were struck by gunfire on their routes in Pasco.

The shots came from pellet guns and caused some damage but no drivers or passengers were hurt. Still, the frightening incidents have union officials demanding that transit system managers have a plan for dealing with active shooters.

“Those high pressure pellet guns, they can dent metal,” Teamsters Local 839 Secretary-Treasurer Russell Shjerven told the Herald. “If they can dent the sheet metal and they can go through a window, they can do some damage.”

The three buses were traveling through the area of 14th Avenue and Sylvester Street and 14th Avenue and Yakima Street on Monday night when they were pelted.

One bus was hit three times while it driving on Sylvester. A window shattered on another, and two of the buses were struck near the bus driver’s window.

“I have a pellet gun that is .22 caliber and it can kill a human,” Union Representative Caleb Suttle said. “When I saw how close it was to the window, I got sick to my stomach.”

Pasco police are investigating the shooting, said Sgt. David Herrera.

Suttle said transit system drivers have yet to hear any response from management about the incidents.

Shjerven and Suttle said managers are treating it like simple vandalism, but they feel the damage presents a serious threat to the drivers and passengers.

Brian Lubanski, the agency’s senior manager of customer experience, told the Herald the transit authority is still working on a statement.

Another more serious shooting incident happened in June 2022 when a gunman opened fire on a truck near the 22nd Avenue transfer center while a transit bus with passengers was parked nearby.

Union officials said they’re still waiting for policies and training to be put into place for what drivers should do in active shooting situations like that.

Shjerven said the driver didn’t know what to do when the shooting started, and has been left traumatized by the whole ordeal.

Suttle said all their looking for is whether the driver should speed away, tell people to get onto the ground, or take some other action. Monday’s events just highlight that they still have a problem.

“It’s frustrating that any time we bring it up with our general manager, we’re told ‘We’re not L.A.,’” Suttle said. “What’s it going to take? One of my drivers being seriously injured or killed?”