Seattle bus driver shot in torso gets passengers to safety
SEATTLE (AP) - A bus driver hailed as a hero for steering his bus away from a gunman who opened fire in Seattle on him and his passengers says he was just doing his job but is "glad to be alive."
Eric Stark was hit in the torso by a bullet but authorities have said he still managed to turn the bus around and drive his passengers to safety from the gunman walking in a neighborhood who went on to kill two men, apparently at random, before he was taken into custody
Stark ,53, "saved lives and took action even after being harmed," said Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkin.
But Stark, recovering Thursday in a hospital, told ABC's "Good Morning America" Thursday "it's what any other driver would be able to do if they were physically able,"
The events unfolded at about 4 p.m. Wednesday in Seattle's Lake City neighborhood, when the gunman walked up to a 56-year-old female driver, shooting and wounding her. The man, who police had still not identified Thursday, then walked on and fired at the bus, hitting Stark, authorities said.
"I ducked down really quick for some cover, did like a two-second assessment of my injuries and figured - well, I can breathe, I can think, I can see, and I can talk," Stark said from his hospital room. "So for me that was enough to go, 'OK, we're getting out of here. I've gotta get these people out of here.'"
The gunman then approached a second motorist and opened fire, police said, killing a 50-year-old man. After officers arrived, the suspect fled in the that victim's vehicle. He drove a few blocks and then collided with another car, killing the 70-year-old male driver, fire department officials said.
The 33-year-old suspect was taken into custody after a brief standoff. He was transported to a hospital with minor injuries, police said.
Witness John Barrett told the KOMO television station that he was in his garage when he heard what sounded like fire crackers.
He went outside and saw a man with a gun pointing it at people as he walked down a street "just firing at anything just without any regard."
None of the passengers aboard the bus driven by Stark were hurt, the King County Metro Transit agency said.
Stark managed to get off the bus and walk to a gurney so paramedics could take him to the hospital, said Kenneth Price, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 587, which represents drivers.
Stark has worked for the transit agency seven years and "acted heroically in the face of extreme adversity to protect his passengers," said King County Executive Dow Constantine said has worked for King County Metro for seven years.
Stark, the woman who was shot and the suspect were taken to Seattle's Harborview Medical Center. None suffered life-threatening injuries, said hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg.
"Our thoughts now are with families of those killed and those injured," said Durkan. "The entire city of Seattle is pulling for them."
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This story has been updated to correct that the bus driver's interview was with ABC's "Good Morning America," not KOMO-TV.