The reward in the shooting of windows on RTC buses with a pellet or BB gun has increased to $11,500, and the Regional Transportation Commission has stopped one route early because of the incidents.
MV Transportation, which employs the bus drivers, and the Regional Transportation Commission have each contributed $5,000 in reward money. The reward will be paid out to anyone providing information that leads to an arrest and prosecution in the case. This is in addition to the $1,500 reward offered by Secret Witness.
The latest shooting occurred about 7:10 p.m. Sunday night at the intersection of Mill Street and Wells Avenue, RTC spokesman Joe Harrington said. He said there have been at least eight incidents since mid-July involving 20 windows and more than $20,000 in damage. Most have occurred at night.
At about 11:45 p.m. on July 27 two windows were shot out by pellets or BBs on a route 2 bus at Rock Boulevard and York Way in Sparks, the RTC said. About a dozen people were on board, but no one was injured.
Since nearly all the incidents have happened at night, the RTC decided last week to stop route 2 bus service early. The service ends at 7 p.m. and doesn’t resume until 4:30 a.m.
“We know for many people the bus is their only method of transportation,” said RTC Executive Director Lee Gibson. “We’ve never before had to take this step. However, safety of the passengers and drivers is our top priority.”
RTC said 19 windows have been shot on buses over the past several weeks while the buses were en route. Many of the shootings occurred around Greenbrae Drive in Sparks.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Sparks Police Department at 353-2231 or Secret Witness at 322-4900.