Inset: Bruce Rodriguez (GoFundMe). Background: The bus that Bruce Rodriguez was driving in Los Angeles County, Calif., when he was shot and killed (KNBC).
A California dad who worked as a bus driver was shot dead by a passenger after he refused to stop to let the man out due to "heavy traffic," according to prosecutors.
Jose Antonio Zayas, 55, "grabbed his bike from the front rack of the bus and fled" after allegedly killing 42-year-old Culver CityBus driver Bruce Rodriguez on the evening of Oct. 1, according to a Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office press release. Authorities found Zayas the following day and arrested him on charges of murder with the special circumstance allegation of murder of transportation personnel and a special allegation that he personally used a firearm, as well as one count of felon in possession of a firearm.
"Bruce Rodriguez was a valued colleague, a beloved father and husband who was tragically killed by a passenger aboard his bus," Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said in a statement. "People relied on him every day to get them to where they needed to go. Our transit systems must be safe for every driver, commuter and community member, and this office will hold individuals fully accountable if they brazenly and violently break the law and shatter that sense of safety."
Zayas pulled out a gun and shot Rodriguez after he demanded to be let off the bus on South Centinela Avenue in Los Angeles' Mar Vista neighborhood, prosecutors say. The alleged attack unfolded around 5 p.m., according to the DA's office.
"Zayas approached Rodriguez and asked him to stop the bus so he could exit, but Rodriguez was unable to because of heavy traffic and the position of the bus," the DA's press release says. "Zayas allegedly then fired a handgun multiple times, killing Rodriguez."
Rodriguez was found unresponsive in the driver's seat of his bus near Centinela Avenue and Washington Boulevard. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Zayas was arrested the following afternoon by an FBI task force working with the LAPD's Gang and Narcotics Division. He made an initial court appearance this week and is scheduled to be arraigned on Nov. 5.
Rodriguez is survived by his wife and two young boys, ages 6 months and 3 years.
"Bruce loved being a dad to our two little boys," his wife, Sandy Sanchez, said at a vigil Saturday attended by hundreds of people. "He worked hard to care for us. For 12 years, he worked hard for the city of Culver City as a bus driver."
Culver City Mayor Freddy Puza called Rodriguez a valued member of the community and said bus service was suspended over the weekend in response to the shooting.
"We have lost a deeply valued member of our city family to a senseless act of violence," Puza said.
Los Angeles City Council member Traci Park, whose district includes Mar Vista, has called for stronger protections for transit workers, citing at least 72 assaults on bus and train operators last year.
"This was a senseless and brutal act that took the life of a man simply doing his job and serving our community," Park said in a statement Wednesday.
If convicted as charged, Zayas could face life in prison without the possibility of parole.