Terror on the bus
Unwanted advise from a passenger and two gunmen strafe a SEPTA bus with semiautomatic weapons.
Terror on the bus
Passenger recounts shooting terror on SEPTA bus
For Lefenus Pickett, what began as a routine ride home on SEPTA's Route 47 bus became a near-death experience June 18 when a woman who took offense at his parenting advice called friends who strafed the loaded bus with semiautomatic weapons fire in North Philadelphia.
A Philadelphia courtroom was riveted today as Pickett narrated a video made by seven cameras on the bus that showed two men, brandishing a handgun and an rifle, taking aim at Pickett who then jumps over his seat and runs with other passenger to the front as bullets fly through the bus windows.
"At first I froze for a minute as I stood up," testified Pickett about the moment when he saw the men outside on Seventh Street at Cecil B. Mooore Avenue aim their weapons at him through the bus' rear door. "But when I saw them actually shooting, I was just trying to move toward the front of the bus."
The video, and Pickett's testimony, became the key evidence at the preliminary hearing for six people charged with attempted murder, conspiracy and related charges for the assault that early Saturday evening.
At the end of the hearing, Municipal Court Judge James M. DeLeon ordered four of the six held for trial including Penny Chapman, 20, the young mother who allegedly took offense when Pickett chastized her for spanking her young son.
Also held were brothers Karon and Raheem Patterson, the alleged gunmen who fired 13 shots at the bus - remarkably not hitting a single passenger - Angel Lecourt, the brother of the father of Chapman's son, to whom Chapman pointed out Pickett and told him: "I want you to shoot that [racial slur]."
DeLeon dismissed charges against two others present at the scene but whom he said appeared to do nothing. The District Attorney's office announced it would refile the charges against the pair.
Pickett testified that he was riding the bus with his brother when he saw Chapman board with her son and sit a few seats in front of him. The child started running up and down the aisle, Pickett said, and Chapman started spanking him.
"I told her that's child abuse, that's a little boy," Pickett said.
The argument escalated, Pickett continued, and then he saw Chapman calling someone on her cell phone.
When the bus stopped at Seventh and Cecil B. Moore, Pickett said, there were already a half-dozen people waiting. The rear door opened and Chapman and her son left but paused long enough for her to point out Pickett to a man later identified as Lecourt.
As the shooting begins, passengers rush to the front, some piling on top of each other in the stairwell of the bus's front door.
The driver, Desmond Jones, an Army veteran from South Philadelphia, floored the bus and called police and then rushed to the emergency room of Temple University Medical Center.
As it turned out, no one was wounded. But police used the hospital parking lot to interview witnesses among the passengers.
Comment removed.- Wow, beetlejuice, I hope I'm not going to be held responsible for everything every white knucklehead does. Are you assuming responsibility for your whole race? Which one would that be? I may have some complaints for you people.
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I never thought I'd ever consider getting a gun, legally of course. But I work in the barrio and drive home through North Philly. People regularly are found dead within blocks of my job in Kensington. Why shouldn't I get a gun? Flash mobs, buses ambushed by crazed thugs with automatic weapons. Damn...it's like the Wild Wild West out there yo. Damn straight I'm gonna start packin'. Specially when I have to use SEPTA.— The Monk
This is the fine work of several law enforcement officers involved in the investigation, especially the one in the blue uniform. If promotions were done on merit, this officer should be promoted. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Good job, if you now the person I am speaking about I am sure you would agree. God protect the Septa Driver's. I know many people think they are ignorant, but look at the people that deal with everyday.— willy0125- Comment removed.
- Must be a crazy and dangerous life for city folks. Move from Killadelphia before the grim reaper visits you, as you peaceably ride home from work. Twin and sister cities: Detroit and Philly.— joedog
- beetlejuice, you are a moron. none of your comments make any sense. but you are right that unfortunately there is so much black on black crime these days that its impossible to even ride the bus safely sometimes. God bless this septa driver for flooring it when the thugs approached and trying to get these people to the hospital right away. p.s. everyone who thinks philly is too dangerous to live - crime spikes in the summer.— rufftuffdh
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- You MUST be a Skinhead or a KKK member. No non racist would ever say that bull. These are clearly animals but they dont represent the whole race.
— LEEinc - You MUST be a Skinhead or a KKK member. No non racist would ever say that bull. These are clearly animals but they dont represent the whole race. — LEEinc
- To comment on: "p.s. everyone who thinks philly is too dangerous to live - crime spikes in the summer." Well that is comforting. I believe you are so used to felonious and barbaric behaviors that winter must not be your "winter of discontent". Do you vote as well? Good grief!— joedog
- exciting to see how well those cameras and recording system worked.— ald
- This story is deeply disturbing on so many levels...— TomTheCork
- why is this the first im hearing of this was it reportedon june 18?— swiftlyons
- I'm surprised that comments are enabled for this one.— TVGuy22
- Put the shooters and the woman up on Federal charges, it at all possible. This way, at least the penalties will be much harsher & they'll get locked up far away from here.— xpresstrain1
- Well said Lefty its not the entire race..— center city
- makes me think twice about ever approaching a black dude in cargo shorts around Temple. (see the video footage and you'll know what I mean)— jbhess
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- How very civilized.— maude
- Its not a racial situation--its a cultural and political one. Crime will always be part of the lower class--but culturally, some in the city fall back on the easy used excuse to blame institutional racism as well as embracing their role as "victims of society". Things will never change in urban Philadelphia until the cultural acceptance for crime changes. When an educated, successful man such as Nutter is considered "less" because of his education and success, the attitude must change. When slingin is more respected than education, there is a problem.— shirleyf
- Yeah, I too am wondering why this is the first we are hearing about this.
It is truly very, very bad in Philly!
This needs to be shown to the world.— pesticide - Wow...knowing the neighborhood, unfortunately i have to say this is nothing new...still shocking though. The perps and accomplices need to be put away for life without the possibility of parole...and trust me, that should be considered lenient.— Temple Surgeon
- Just as serious a problem is the judicial system...in which the defense, despitte the video evidence will likely advocate that these perps be let off the hook because no one was hurt. There is something wrong with the society we live in...— Temple Surgeon
- CBS Evening News featured this story tonight a minute before they did a feature of carnage happening in Somalia. You couldnt tell where the Philadelphia story ended and the Somalian one began. Unfrigginbelievable.— joe smith
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- You shoot a few rounds at a bus... now your reward is getting caught and being locked in a cage. Nice job kids, nice job parents.— drmonday
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- Violence is primarily psychological imbalance. One can be rich or poor, a person of any color, any gender, intellectually astute or low IQ, professional or blue-collar, employed or unemployed- anyone can commit acts of violence if they have brain damage that limits their ability to assimilate into society in an honorable and constructive way. (By the way, some of the postings could use a little more honor) Anger seems to reside in the hearts of every man and woman on this planet. To the extent that one can control that anger and transform one`s emotions to do good, one`s actions always speak to the essence of that mind. One cannot be convinced to be good if they desire bad more. You can judge the content of a heart by the actions that the mind and emotions produced. Anger resides in homes, cities, nations. Let us speak to the heart of the problem and how to overcome it. The one who is angry is first angry at himself/herself because that person cannot live up to the image he/she presents in society- thus that person strikes out against someone who deflects that anger. Angry people hate themselves more than they hate others. I think life has a better way!!!— denjamr
