Gunman Sought In Deadly South Dade Bus Shooting
SW MIAMI-DADE (CBSMiami) – Miami-Dade Police are searching for a suspect who gunned down 24-year-old Lamar Callie from Southwest Miami-Dade on board a Miami-Dade transit bus and who terrified passengers on board.
"It sounded like real loud, pow, pow, pow," said Rufus McKenzie, who was a passenger on board the bus Tuesday night and who was on his way home from work at a Walmart store when he heard the shots fired from behind his seat.
"I heard the shots and I reacted quickly," McKenzie told CBS4's Peter D'Oench. "I left one of my bags on the bus. I heard some arguing on the bus, two people arguing. That's how it started. I don't know what they were arguing about. I just heard the gunfire."
Callie was rushed to Kendall Regional Medical Center, but did not survive.
"I was kind of frightened." McKenzie said. "I was really frightened. My heart was pumping really fast. I was scared. It was the sounds that scared me. I didn't know what happened. It was going on behind me. And I didn't get a good look at the gunman. I just wanted to get off the bus."
"People were running out the front door and the side door," said McKenzie. "I have never seen anything like this. It is horrible. It is a mystery. It is just through the grace of God that no one else was injured. I can't believe that nothing happened to me."
"I was just coming home from my job at a Walmart store and this happened," said McKenzie. "I hope this gunman will be caught. It will bring justice. It will bring justice."
It is not known if Callie knew the gunman or if they were strangers.
At the bus stop on the South Miami-Dade busway just north of Carribean Boulevard and just west of U.S. 1, friends of Callie met and lit a candle in his honor. One friend who did not want to be identified called Callie a "good guy" and he sent photos of his friend to CBS4.
But Miami-Dade Police do say that Callie had an extensive record, showing arrests as recently as Monday for loitering and prowling and previous arrests for possession of marijuana, driving with a suspended license, trespassing in an unoccupied structure, disorderly conduct, grand theft and aggravated battery. Police say he also violated his probation.
It is also not known if Callie's criminal history was a factor in his shooting.
CBS4 reached out to Callie's sister and mother. His sister told D'Oench that they're grieving and did not want to say anything right now about the shooting.
At the bus stop, passengers told CBS4 that while they were upset about the incident, it would not deter them from taking Miami-Dade transit buses.
Harvey Lester said, "I feel comfortable riding the bus. This sort of thing rarely happens. This was very unusual."
Sitting beside him and also waiting for a bus, his wife Amanda Lester echoed his sentiments, saying "I don't have any concerns. I will still ride the bus."
Miami-Dade Police have not released a description of the gunman who fled.
If you can help them, call Miami-Dade Crimestoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477).
