Video captures chaos in school bus shooting

Edgar Robles, 16, charged with 2 counts of attempted murder

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Newly released surveillance video, recorded on a Duval County school bus, shows the moments when gunshots were fired at a school bus, hitting two teenage girls in May. The video shows students yelling, ducking, and looking out the window in the minutes before police and rescue personnel arrived.

Four shots could be heard being fired into school bus 915 and shortly after people were heard shouting and staring at people outside the bus. A student then yells out, "Somebody got shot! You've got to pull over." The bus driver continues about 1.3 miles to the intersection of 118th Street and Blanding Boulevard before stopping and waiting for police and rescue personnel to arrive.

A bus monitor can be seen heading to the back of the bus to tend to the two victims, Ayana Sherman, who was hit in the back of the head, and Shakayla Singleton, who was struck in the chest, yelling out, "Move! Move! Move!"


 

UNCUT: Watch on-board bus video
IMAGES: Surveillance on bus, shooting aftermath 

The bus monitor called 911 and one of the girl's mothers and tended to the injured girls on board while the bus driver got to a safer place.

Eight minutes later, officers were seen boarding the bus, yelling, "Everybody sit down. Where's the gun? Don't touch it." They were quickly told the gun wasn't on the bus.

Both victims were rushed to UF Health Jacksonville. Singleton, 15, was released the next day, but Sherman, 14, spent several days being treated for the gunshot wound to the head.

News4Jax Crime and Safety Analyst Gil Smith was a school resource officer for six years. He watched the footage and said the students should not have been allowed out of their seats.

"While the bus was rolling, they should not have been up. Including the aide, unless he's dealing with a situation," said Smith.

When the shooting happened Smith commended the bus driver for driving away and said that action likely saved many lives.

"That was a smart thing to do. Now you have fewer people who are going to get him. If he had stayed there, there would have been more people who were shot, injured, maybe even killed," Smith said.

With an event like this one, Smith agreed no one could have possibly predicted the shooting. However, he said it's possible some may have known about the conflict leading up to it.

"Quite often, students will know that something like this is about to happen. I think we would probably see more violent incidents if it weren't for students actually reporting this to teachers or reporting it to someone. Quite often, these incidents are stopped ahead of time," Smith said.

Weeks later, the suspect in the shooting -- Edgar Robles, 16 -- was arrested during a traffic stop in Liberty County, Georgia -- about 30 miles south of Savannah. Authorities said he was treated for a self-inflicted gunshot wound, then locked up in a juvenile facility in Georgia until he was returned to Jacksonville to face the charges.

Dezirae Torres was on the bus when police said Robles opened fire. She was in the back of the bus and saw the girls hit and bleeding.

"I thought it was like firecrackers. We ended up seeing the glass in the back shatter," Torres said. "And when that happened, I saw a girl with blood all over her face walk up with her hands cupped like this getting the blood in her hand, and I was like shocked that even happened. I didn't know what to do."

Dezirae said seeing the images of what she lived through from the front of the bus is chilling.

"I didn't know what was happening, I seen people jumping up and I didn't know," Torres said.

In June, State Attorney Angela Corey announced that Robles will be tried as an adult because the crimes he is accused of are so egregious. Tried as an adult, Robles would face a minimum of 25 years in prison if convicted.

Robles' family attorney said Robles' mother is a "law-abiding, God-fearing" mother who is mortified that her son is charged with a heinous crime.

The shooting occurred just after 4 p.m. May 14 near the intersection of 118th and Catoma streets as the bus was carrying students from Grand Park Center, Mattie V. Rutherford Alternative Education Center and James Weldon Johnson Academic Career Training Center home from school.

Prosecutors said more charges could be filed against Robles since there were 30 children on the bus when the shots were fired.

It's also hard to watch for another young boy who doesn't want his face shown because he helped ID the shooters for police. He was standing outside the bus when the shooting happened, waiting for his brother who was inside and said he talked to the teens who fired.

"I went up to two people who looked like teenagers, looked like 16, 18. I asked them if they've seen bus 19 pass or if it's coming. They told me it's coming. They knew it was going to come," the boy said. "It was crazy because I don't know why teenagers would have a gun. I was hoping my brother didn't get shot."

He said he saw those teens cross the street then open fire, knowing his older brother was inside.

"I was scared because my mom was pregnant at that time and my two sisters were still young. My brother, I was so scared he was on the bus and might have got shot," he said.  

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A surveillance camera inside bus 915 records Edgar Robles on the sidewalkas the bus drives down 118th Street about 4 p.m.


About the Authors:

Scott is a multi-Emmy Award Winning Anchor and Reporter, who also hosts the “Going Ringside With The Local Station” Podcast. Scott has been a journalist for 25 years, covering stories including six presidential elections, multiple space shuttle launches and dozens of high-profile murder trials.

Ashley Harding joined the Channel 4 news team in March 2013. She reports for and anchors The Morning Show.