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Last Night: Just Another Christmas Eve on the 7
Riding the 7 bus route (AKA the most dangerous bus route in the city) home on the night of Christmas Eve, I witnessed an attempted robbery that ended up with a shattered bus window and a police report.
The incident started at the bus island just east of Third and Pike, where two young guys were apparently attempting to rob an older man. The would-be robbee jumped on the bus as it was pulling away, and the two men followed the bus down the street, hitting it and yelling threats at the man. Then, once the bus was stopped at the light at Third and Pike, one of the two guys hit the bus window so hard it shattered.
Fortunately, bus windows are made of pretty stern stuff---this one stayed in place after it broke, enabling a Metro supervisor to patch it with tape (classy!):
I never found out whether they caught the two guys who broke the window---another 7 came along shortly after I gave the transit police a statement---but if you see a guy walking down Third Avenue with a busted hand, you might want to cross the street.
(Coda: Two days after all this happened, I was riding the 7 again and a woman reacted to a request that she pay the $2 fare by telling the driver, "Fuck you! And fuck your mother!") The driver, unperturbed, responded calmly, "And that'll be going up to $2.25 next year, ma'am.")
The incident started at the bus island just east of Third and Pike, where two young guys were apparently attempting to rob an older man. The would-be robbee jumped on the bus as it was pulling away, and the two men followed the bus down the street, hitting it and yelling threats at the man. Then, once the bus was stopped at the light at Third and Pike, one of the two guys hit the bus window so hard it shattered.
Fortunately, bus windows are made of pretty stern stuff---this one stayed in place after it broke, enabling a Metro supervisor to patch it with tape (classy!):
I never found out whether they caught the two guys who broke the window---another 7 came along shortly after I gave the transit police a statement---but if you see a guy walking down Third Avenue with a busted hand, you might want to cross the street.
(Coda: Two days after all this happened, I was riding the 7 again and a woman reacted to a request that she pay the $2 fare by telling the driver, "Fuck you! And fuck your mother!") The driver, unperturbed, responded calmly, "And that'll be going up to $2.25 next year, ma'am.")
