Gunfire leaves one wounded, SEPTA Route 6 driver injured

When police responded to a shots-fired call near 7700 Ogontz Ave. around 9:40 p.m. Tuesday, they found a 22-year-old man with wounds to the leg and arm, and two blocks away, a SEPTA bus driver who suffered facial injuries when a stray bullet shattered the driver’s side window.

The driver was not shot, and it doesn’t appear that any passengers were on the bus at the time of the incident, police said.

The shooting victim was found inside a business on the 7600 block of Ogontz Ave. and was transported to Albert Einstein Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition. Police located the 59-year-old bus driver at 78th and Ogontz, bleeding from glass fragments sent flying by the errant bullet.

SEPTA’s Chief Press Officer Jerri Williams said the driver’s name isn’t being released publicly, but that the shooting occurred near the route’s stop-over site.

“The driver moved a safe distance away before calling the incident in to our bus operations,” she said, noting he was treated and released from the hospital. “A spent bullet was found on the floor just to the left of him. It was definitely a close call.”

The driver was also taken to Albert Einstein Medical Center for treatment. Police said it appears that the gunshot victim and the bus driver went in opposite directions from where the incident occurred.

The gunman, who remains on the loose, was described as a clean-shaven, 5-foot-9-inch black man in his early 20s, light complexion, stocky build and wearing a blue hoodie.

This incident comes shortly a week after a 46-year-old SEPTA driver was shot in Grays Ferry, prompting reports of attacks having doubled this year.

The Route 6 bus runs from West Oak Lane to the Olney Transportation Center.