Crime Briefs

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Don Markus

Boy accused of firing pellet gun at MTA bus in city

Maryland Transit Administration police have arrested a 16-year-old boy suspected of shooting a BB or pellet gun at a bus Thursday morning in West Baltimore, according to a spokeswoman for the agency. The driver of the No. 23 bus had stopped about 8:10 a.m. to pick up passengers at Edmondson Avenue and North Grantley Street when she saw a young man step in front of the bus and pull a weapon from his waistband, said MTA spokeswoman Jawauna Greene. The boy fired at the windshield, then continued to shoot as the driver pulled away and drove to the next stop, according to charging documents. The boy was arrested Thursday afternoon. He faces charges including attempted murder, possession of a handgun and damaging MTA property. No one was injured, but "it still was very distressing for the operator," Greene said. Most of those on the bus, which was traveling westbound on Edmondson Avenue, were students of West Baltimore Middle School, according to Greene.

- Liz F. Kay