Cops: Bus Driver Saved Lives After Man Opened Fire

A bus driver in Fort Lauderdale kept a remarkably clear head while there was an active shooter situation on her bus Thursday afternoon, police say. Acting Police Chief Luis Alvarez says when the Broward County Transit driver heard shots, she headed straight for police headquarters a few blocks away, driving into oncoming traffic before delivering the suspect—and the crime scene—to the department, reports the Miami Herald. The gunman, identified as 34-year-old Jamal J. Meyers, walked out of the bus and surrendered to officers.

Police say Meyers shot four people on the bus. One passenger was pronounced dead at the scene and another died in the hospital. No motive has been determined. Police say the death toll could have been higher if it wasn't for the driver's quick thinking. "The bus driver in this particular case—her quick actions—I am sure, saved lives," Alvarez said.

The driver hit a taxi and a Mercedes SUV as she "barreled" toward police headquarters, leaving three people with minor injuries, police say. One of them, Darnell Coles, tells Local 10 that the bus knocked a bumper off the taxi and rammed the Mercedes. "The way she was set up for that situation, I understand why we got hit," he says. "Someone behind you, popping a gun and shooting folks, and you’re trapped—you have got to do something.” (More Miami stories.)