Chaotic video catches moment school bus struck by gunfire that stemmed from drug dispute
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV/Gray News) - Released surveillance footage captured the moment a school bus was struck by gunfire with students inside.
The heart-stopping video from inside the bus showed a bullet penetrating a window and students beginning to scream as the situation unfolded in real time.
Police say on Monday, an alleged drug dispute led to a shooting on East W.T. Harris Boulevard near Albemarle Road in Charlotte.
A school bus carrying students for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools was caught in the crossfire of that shooting, police reported.
Of the roughly 30 students on the bus at the time of the shooting, two were treated for cuts caused by shattered glass. It did not appear that any students were hit by actual gunfire, according to police.
Two other vehicles were also shot into, but police did not say that any other people were injured in the shooting.
Two people, Paris Lewis-Bynum, 20, and Jaheim Boone, 23, have been charged with assault in connection with the shooting.
Lewis-Bynum was brought in for questioning on Wednesday and is charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, possession of a stolen firearm, possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of a stolen motor vehicle.
Bail was denied for Lewis-Bynum after he appeared in court Thursday. He is scheduled to appear in court next on Jan. 9, 2025.
Boone was arrested and charged on Thursday with three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to kill and seven counts of discharging a weapon into an occupied dwelling or moving vehicle.
Police said Boone “unlawfully, willfully, and feloniously” assaulted Lewis-Bynum with a 9 mm handgun “with the intent to kill him.” Boone also allegedly fired the gun into the school bus in addition to an occupied Infinity sedan, and an occupied Chevrolet Express Van.
Police say another man, 21-year-old Lamarius Anthony, was brought in for questioning after police saw him leaving the area of the shooting on Monday. He was later arrested and charged with felony possession of cocaine and carrying a concealed weapon.
Anthony was not charged with assault, and it was not immediately clear whether he was directly involved in Monday’s shooting. The man was out on bond as of Tuesday afternoon.
It’s not immediately clear if more people were involved in the alleged drug dispute and if more arrests could be forthcoming.
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