The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department released a statement saying that the gunfire came from a drug-related dispute that occurred outside the school bus on Monday. The bus was not the intended target, police added. Two students from Albemarle Middle School were injured from glass broken by the gunfire, according to the police statement.
Police arrested 21-year-old Lamarius Ramel Anthony, who is charged with carrying a concealed weapon and felony possession of cocaine.
Local security guard Eyersol Belbuel was reportedly nearby when the shooting occurred and assisted the school bus driver in safely evacuating all the students.
A South Carolina man says he does not understand and disagrees with people accusing him of endangering students and calling him a menace after rolling his wheelchair in front of a moving school bus, reported Sun News.
According to the news report, Doug Champa, a U.S. Marine veteran, was arrested on Nov. 22 after he used his wheelchair to block a school bus that was attempting to drive through his Conway area neighborhood to drop off children.
Champa, 58, is reportedly accused of riding in front of the bus, preventing it from getting around him by moving in its path, and slowing the bus down to 5 mph.
Champa, who was paralyzed after a car crash in 1986, told local news reporters that he was protesting what he claimed was frequent speeding of school buses in his neighborhood over the posted 15 mph speed limit. He said his goal was not to get arrested but rather to draw attention his safety concerns because of children who live in the area as well as his 88-year-old mother.
The article states that Champa claims he and his neighbors have been dealing with speeding buses for about three years. He said he called the Horry County Schools transportation department and complained, pleading with them to have buses slow down, but is always met with the same answer.
Officials reportedly tell Champa that the buses have GPS on the vehicles and that it indicates that the buses are not speeding. Confusion may arise from the street where Champa lives compare to the next street over, Drawbridge Drive, which has speed limit of 25 mph.
According to local news reporters, Champa pointed out that a regular-sized vehicle can barely see him when he’s in front of it and emphasized that a school bus driver would definitely not be able to see him not to mention small children.
Other neighbors have reportedly raised concerns about speeding and started a petition to get speed bumps placed along the roadway. It wsa unclear if speed bumps will eventually be placed along the street.
Champa, who says he’s always been an advocate for children and people with disabilities, said he would never physically hurt anybody. He was reportedly released on a $1,000 bond for the charge of interfering with the operation of a school bus.
An Amber Alert the morning of Dec. 5 notified residents of the kidnapping of three children. By 6 p.m. the alert was cancelled, reported WLBT 3.
According to the news report, the three children “were waiting for the bus,” when a black four-door vehicle pulled up to the bus stop and took the children. Authorities confirmed the reported kidnapping took place at the Bobby’s Way apartment complex in Fishersville.
The Virginia State Police said via the article that the alert was cancelled after the children were found safe. Officials said it was determined that the children’s estranged biological mother, Shanice Davidson, was responsible for their disappearance.
Police reportedly believed the children, Jai’Marcus Lewis, 10, Ja’Miyah Lewis, 8, and Ja’Liyah Lewis,6, were with Davidson, who resides in Evergreen, Alabama. Deputies said the 911 call was from the children’s other parent at about 8:27 a.m.
Davidson was described as a 35-year-old Black female, 5 feet 5 inches tall, 184 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. According to the Alabama Highway Patrol and U.S. Marshals Service, Davidson was taken into custody in Birmingham Alabama, after a brief pursuit along Interstate 495.
Davidson was reportedly arrested on abduction warrants from the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office. The incident remains under investigation.
A woman in Plymouth, Massachusetts, was arrested after nearly hitting a child while illegally passing a school bus.
According to a statement issued by the Plymouth Police Department, on Nov. 22 at approximately 8:45 a.m. officers received a report of a motor vehicle that had utilized the caller’s circular driveway to pass a school bus while it had its red lights activated.
A video provided by the caller clearly showed a white SUV using the driveway to pass the lawfully stopped school bus while it was picking up students. According to authorities, further review of the video showed the SUV nearly striking the caller’s 10-year-old son.
Officials state that as a result of the follow-up investigation, Plymouth Police arrested 59-year-old Brenda Mello on Nov. 29, charging her with failure to stop for school bus, reckless operations of a motor vehicle, and assault by means of a dangerous weapon.
Mello was reportedly expected to be arraigned in Plymouth Court on Wednesday.
A woman from Milwaukee, Wisconsin faces charges for allegedly punching a school bus driver, reported Fox 6.
According to the news report, police responded to a battery 911 call on Nov. 6 after 20-year-old Danielle Dobbin allegedly physically assaulted a school bus driver.
The article states that when officers arrived at the scene, they communicated with the driver who was inside the vehicle with two young children.
The bus driver, who was not identified at this writing, reportedly told authorities that a black four-door car passed her on their right side and stopped in front of the bus, then began to back up. When the bus driver honked the horn to alert the driver of the car, which allegedly was Dobbin, the woman got out of her car and began yelling at the bus driver.
The bus driver told police via the article that she was not allowed to reverse the school bus without permission from dispatch, so she did not move the bus.
According to the bus driver, Dobbin reportedly walked up to the bus yelling and opened the side bus door threatening to take the bus driver’s purse. When the bus driver moved the purse, Dobbin allegedly swung her closed fist and punched the bus driver multiple times. Because the bus driver was still strapped into the driver’s seat by the seat belt, she said she could not move away from the punches.
When Dobbin stepped away from the bus, the bus driver reportedly closed the school bus door, called dispatch and described the driver of the car and what had happened.
The bus driver reportedly directed the authorities to the driveway where she said she saw Dobbin enter her vehicle. That is how police say they identified Dobbin, who told officers that the bus was traveling closely behind her and “stopped within 2 feet” of her vehicle.
Dobbin reportedly told officials that because the bus driver refused to back up, she punched the bus driver. She also stated that this incident would not have happened if the bus driver had locked the driver’s side door in the bus.
Surveillance footage from the bus was reportedly collected by police and, according to authorities, the video depicts the incident completely.
Dobbin is now facing charges of physical abuse of an elderly person, intentionally causing bodily harm and disorderly conduct. She was scheduled to make her initial appearance in Milwaukee County court on Nov. 8. The incident remains under investigation.
The owner of a Franklin County school bus contractor in Pennsylvania has been accused of forging documents, in order to continue driving a school bus even though she was not cleared, reported ABC 27.
According to the news report, charges were filed against 72-year-old Theresa Keifman on Monday, the owner of Keifman Busing, for allegedly forging documents for years.
State police said Kelfman doctored original documents dating back to 2018 by changing the year to be more current. Keifman reportedly did this so she could continue to drive a bus with a passenger and school bus endorsement.
Officials said that 2017 was the last time Keifman passed the required medical examination. The new date was the only thing she changed on the documents, leaving the rest exactly the same each year.
Police said Keifman was not medically cleared to drive the bus. The articled noted that school bus drivers in Pennsylvania must obtain a valid physical examination every 13 months to ensure they are medically cleared to drive students.
During the investigation, officers reportedly reviewed Keifman’s Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and medical records. She now faces felony charges of forgery along with misdemeanor charges of tampering with records or ID, tampering with/fabricating physical evidence, tampering with public record/information, and unsworn falsification to authorities.
Keifman is reportedly out on unsecured bail set at $25,000 and has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Nov. 25.
An East Irondequoit Central School District school bus transporting 10 Aquina Institute students was purportedly hit by a bullet, reported RochesterFirst.
The incident reportedly occurred on Monday morning, when the school bus was travelling along route 104 and two of its windows were shattered.
According to the news report, both the school district and Aquinas said the bus had been struck by a bullet and confirmed that there were no reported injuries at the time of the incident. However, New York State police said the school bus was hit by a projectile.
New York State Police are reportedly continuing to investigate the incident and its asking anyone with information to contact them.
Parents in Farmersville, Ohio, are concerned after a man with a baseball bat tried to get on a school bus and exposed himself to students, reported WHIO TV 7.
The incident reportedly occurred on Oct. 25, when a Valley View Local School District school bus was at one of its stops, and a man holding a baseball bat attempted to board the bus.
According to the news report, when the school bus driver told the man he could not be on the bus. The man, who is not identified in this writing, exposed himself and then left. However, authorities said they do not believe the man did not expose himself on purpose.
Police said the man walked toward the car behind the bus and hit it with his bat.
The man was reportedly detained and taken to Miami Valley Hospital for mental evaluation. The driver was recognized for not allowing the man to get on the bus.
A Somerset, Massachusetts driver is facing charges after she was accused of driving a school van with children on board while being drunk, reported WJAR.
The alleged incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon, when state police troopers pulled over a Grand Caravan with a school bus plate that was being driven erratically on Route 140 in New Bedford.
According to the news report, the driver identified as Rebecca Shing was transporting four children and an 18-year-old at the time of the incident.
State police said Shing, 34, was charged with operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol and four counts of child endangerment. Shing admitted to consuming suboxone, an opioid addiction treatment drug, and was arrested after an investigation and a 0.15 blood alcohol content reading from a breathalyzer test administered on site.
Court documents indicate Shing was driving a van that belongs to H&L Bloom Inc., a transportation service based in Taunton, where she was employed as a driver.
Shing entered a not guilty plea, and she was released on $1,000 cash bail. Her license was suspended, and she was terminated from her job at H&L Bloom. She must complete and pass three remote alcohol tests a day while she awaits her pretrial hearing on Nov. 29.
The parents of an 11-year-old boy who was involved in a fatal school bus crash in Springfield, Ohio, in August 2023, are speaking out about their son’s death, reported WLWT 5.
Aidan Clark was killed when he was ejected from his school bus as he and 51 other students were on their way to the first day of school on Aug. 23, 2023. A minivan traveling in the opposite direction crossed over the center line and caused the crash, which broke the school bus rear axle and caused it to overturn. It was the first on-board school bus fatality in Ohio since 2010.
Following the incident, Gov. Mike DeWine called for the Ohio Department of Public Safety to form a school bus safety working group to debate the topic of school bus seatbelts and other safety topics. After meeting several times last fall and hearing from a range of safety experts and school bus operators, the working group issued 17 recommendations on school bus safety, the majority of them focused on school bus drivers and training available to them, maintenance professionals and the community.
The van that crashed into the school bus was driven by Hermanio Joseph, a 36-year-old Haitian immigrant, who was found guilty on counts of felony involuntary manslaughter and vehicular homicide by a Clark County jury in May. He was sentenced to 9 to 13.5 years in prison with credit for time already served.
Nathan Clark, Aiden’s father, alleges politicians are using his son’s name and death for political gain this election season.
Mr. Clark said Aiden, who was 11 at the time, was not murdered but was accidentally killed. He also emphasized that the last thing his family wants is to continuously relive the worst day of their lives.
Joseph was found by investigators to only have a state ID card and a Mexico driver’s license at the time of the crash. He said that because he lives in the U.S. under temporary protected status for Haitians he did not have the proper documents to get his Ohio driver’s license. He also claimed the sun was in his eyes, causing him to drift into the opposite lane and strike the school bus.
The wheels on the school bus may have kept turning for East End Bus Lines, but behind the scenes, the company was on a collision course with disaster.
What started as a desperate attempt to salvage a failing business ended with John Mensch pleading guilty in federal court to a multimillion-dollar bank fraud conspiracy that could put him behind bars for up to five years.
Mensch, a seasoned businessman known for running a network of school bus operations across Long Island, stood before U.S. District Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury earlier this month and admitted to orchestrating a complex scheme referred to as check-kiting that drained nearly $10 million from two unsuspecting financial institutions. The elaborate ruse, which spanned from 2017 through 2018, used East End Bus’ privileged banking status to create an illusion of liquidity, enabling Mensch to keep his business afloat even as it was financially sinking.
“Rather than take lawful steps to wind down his failing businesses, John Mensch resorted to criminality,” stated Breon Peach, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York. “He tricked two banks into advancing him millions of dollars that his company never had or ever had a chance of repaying.”
Mensch’s downfall began when East End Bus Lines, facing mounting debt and dwindling cash flow, leveraged a risky strategy to keep the fleet running. The company held expedited check-clearing privileges with multiple banks, allowing it to access deposited funds almost instantly—long before the banks could verify that the checks were backed by real money. Exploiting this loophole, prosecutors said Mensch engaged in a dizzying game of financial ping-pong, bouncing checks between East End’s various accounts to create a mirage of solvency.
Here’s how it worked: Mensch would draw checks from one of East End’s accounts, even though it was empty, and deposit them into a second account at a different bank. The receiving bank, unaware that the check was bound to bounce, would make the funds immediately available to East End. Before the check could clear—and the fraud exposed—Mensch would repeat the process, this time pulling bad checks from the second bank and depositing them back into the first.
It was a high-wire act of deception that fooled the banks into thinking there was real money in East End’s accounts. Each false transaction gave the company just enough breathing room to keep paying bills, covering salaries, and operating.
“This wasn’t just a simple case of writing a bad check,” said FBI Assistant Director James E. Dennehy. “This was a calculated, high-stakes scheme to defraud his own business partners,an elaborate fraud that siphoned millions of dollars out of legitimate institutions and into a sinking ship.”
As Mensch’s scheme grew bolder, so did the stakes. By the time it unraveled in September 2018, East End Bus Lines had racked up nearly $9.6 million in fraudulent transactions. But it wasn’t just the money. Mensch’s deceit temporarily stabilized an already shaky company, masking its precarious financial state from creditors, customers and employees.
The collapse was sudden and devastating. When the fraudulent trail came to light, the banks were left holding the bag, and Mensch’s empire crumbled almost overnight. The fallout has rippled through the Long Island community, with drivers, administrative staff, and school districts scrambling to adjust.
“This type of scheme doesn’t just hurt banks, it destabilizes the community,” said Patrick Freaney, special agent in charge for the U.S. Secret Service in New York. “The funds Mensch stole were used to cover up years of mismanagement, threatening the livelihoods of his employees and the safety of students who relied on East End’s services.”
As Mensch awaits sentencing, he faces not only the prospect of years behind bars but $9.6 million in restitution to the two victim banks. His actions also sparked a broader investigation into whether other executives at East End Bus Lines knew of or assisted in the fraud.
The case, led by the FBI and the U.S. Secret Service, has been hailed as a victory for the financial crimes unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. The prosecution, handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony Bagnuola and Adam R. Toporovsky, is part of a broader effort to clamp down on white-collar crime across the region.
“This prosecution sends a clear message,” U.S. Attorney Peace concluded. “Those who exploit financial systems to prop up failing businesses and deceive the public will be held accountable.”
A 17-year-old was arrested in connection with a school bus shooting in Chester County, Pennsylvania. The teen’s lawyer claims his client is innocent.
According to a news statement released by Chester County District Attorney’s Office, the incident occurred on Oct. 17, when four suspects wearing masks and dark clothing approached a Coatesville Area School District school bus. Two of the suspects allegedly pulled out weapons and fired eight shots. The school bus was hit twice.
The shooting was a targeted attack on someone exiting the school bus, the district attorney’s office added. It is unclear who that person is. The students and school bus driver on board were not hurt.
In the statement, authorities said that Jaki White-Marshall is facing dozens of charges tied to the shooting, including aggravated assault, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.
However, a statement released by defense attorney Vicent J. Caputo claims that White-Marshall is innocent and was only at the scene to witness a fight that had been promoted on social media.
Caputo added that White-Marshall also never had any communication with the alleged perpetrators of this crime prior to the incident.
White-Marshall was arrested on Friday and is currently being held at the Chester County Youth Center. Caputo said he wants the charges against his client to be dismissed.
District Attorney Christoper de Barrena-Sarobe reportedly urged the remaining suspects to surrender to authorities.
A school bus driver in Newton, Massachusetts, is accused of kidnapping children with disabilities who rode on his route, reported CBS News.
Justin Vose, 42, is now charged with three counts of kidnapping after he allegedly took children with disabilities to isolated areas instead of dropping them off at the Newton Early Education Childhood Program.
Prosecutors allege via the article that Vose took three semi-nonverbal children to secluded areas and then turned off the audio and video recording in the bus for up to 20 minutes and took photographs with the kids. The students were between 3 and 5 years old at the time.
Vose reportedly worked as a school bus driver for an outside contractor, J.S.C Transportation in Waltham. The school became suspicious in late May, after a student on Vose’s bus showed up late to day care.
It is unclear what Vose allegedly did to the children when he kidnapped them. However, the case remains under investigation. Local news reporters reached out to the bus contractor but there has been no response.
Vose will reportedly be arraigned in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn on Oct. 25.
An immigrant family wades through the Rio Grande while crossing from Mexico into the United States on Sept. 30, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. A survey conducted for The Vera Institute found that Democrats could get stronger support from swing voters on immigration and public safety policies that draw a sharper contrast with Republicans. (John Moore | Getty Images)
While Democrats running in November have been outspoken on their differences with Republicans on abortion rights, democracy and some economic issues, some advocates want to see sharper distinctions on issues including immigration and public safety.
“What voters are taking to the ballot box on these issues … are about a desire to prevent crime and to see communities be safer,” said Insha Rahman of the Vera Institute of Justice during an online press conference Friday. Rahman is vice president for advocacy and partnerships for the nonprofit organization, which focuses on the justice system as well as on immigration.
TheVera Institute for Justice and Vera Action, its political advocacy affiliate, and the Wisconsin Working Families Party held the virtual news conference to discuss the issues at the top of the organizations’ agendas in the 2024 election.
“The working class is much more diverse, especially in terms of race, gender and age, than the dominant narrative might imply,” said Corrine Rosen, the Working Families Party’s Wisconsin director.
The organization’s polling has found that “contrary to Conventional wisdom working class voters are to the left of middle and upper class voters on issues of economic justice, public investment, taxing the rich and reining in corporate power.”
In door-to-door canvassing so far this election cycle, the Wisconsin Working Families Party has reached 210,000 homes with plans to exceed 300,000 by Election Day, Rosen said.
“So many working-class families across Wisconsin are facing these same struggles,” she said. “Democrats are just as competitive on key economic issues like the cost of living as Republicans, a fact that we’re seeing echoed in our canvassing efforts on the doors every day.”
Their canvassing has identified strong support for the Democratic ticket, including Presidential candidate Kamala Harris, Sen. Tammy Baldwin and down-ballot candidates, Rosen said.
Poll: Voters open to ‘serious’ safety messages
Insha Rahman, The Vera Institute (Vera Institute photo)
At the same time, however, according to Rahman, polling that Vera Action commissioned this summer suggests that a bloc of voters who could be crucial to the Democrats’ success are open to a stronger, contrasting message on immigration and crime, further differentiating Democratic candidates from the Republicans on those issues.
Vera Action sponsored a poll by Global Strategy Group, a New York polling and messaging firm, that surveyed 800 likely voters in Wisconsin and an additional sample of 250 Milwaukee County voters. The survey broke out various groups, including “swing voters” — people who reported a history of voting for candidates from both major political parties.
On the subject of crime, policing and public safety, the poll found that among those voters, nearly two-thirds — 63% — preferred a “serious about safety approach” to one that emphasized getting “tough on crime.”
The “tough on crime” approach focuses on longer prison sentences for people convicted of violent crimes, increased support for police and maintaining a more restrictive cash bail system.
The “serious about safety” approach emphasizes the broader quality of life, with policies for living wages, affordable housing, more treatment for mental health and drug addiction and getting illegal guns off the street, Rahman said.
In the poll, conducted in July, half of all voters said they heard more from Republicans on crime and safety. That was twice the number of voters who said they heard more from Democrats on the subject.
Rahman said Wisconsin political spending data Vera Action has tracked in the current election cycle shows Republicans have put $67.3 million into ads that focus on crime or immigration, compared with $19.1 million that Democrats have spent on those subjects.
Contrasting messages
The poll compared voters’ views of advertising scripts attacking Democrats as soft on crime and emphasizing Republican “tough on crime” policies.
Half of those polled heard a Democratic response that echoed the “tough” message with some additional nuance. The other half heard a Democratic response that focused instead on the broader “serious about safety” message.
All voters in the poll were divided about equally in favoring the original Republican attack and either the Democratic “tough” or “safety” messages. Voters of color and suburban voters, however, were more receptive to the Democratic “serious about safety” message than either the “tough” message or the original GOP attack.
Voters of color who heard the Democratic “tough” response favored it by 48% to 36% for the original attack ad. But voters of color who heard the Democratic “safety” message favored it over the original attack 64% to 29%.
Suburban voters in the survey also favored both Democratic messages over the attack ad: 50% for the “tough” response to 43% for the attack, and 52% for the “safety” message to 44% for the attack.
Swing voters “only hear a lot of tough-on-crime rhetoric,” Rahman said. “They don’t hear a lot of the safety message — but when they do they strongly favor it.”
She suggested the poll findings offer Democrats an opportunity to cultivate more support from both groups with the “safety” messaging.
“It really says something about where voters are, which is very different from where the political rhetoric, the media rhetoric this cycle is on the issue of crime,” Rahman said.
Immigration attitudes
The poll also tested alternative responses to a hypothetical Republican attack ad on immigration that focused on crime and drug trafficking and “feeding and clothing illegals.”
The Democratic “tough” response avoided the hostile language but focused on increasing border security and stopping “the influx of migrants,” depicting them as “taking up resources” and calling for government and community help so that migrants can “contribute to our communities.”
The Democratic “serious” response focused on border security to stop drugs, but also emphasized a “pathway to citizenship” for migrants already in the country and funding resources such as schools, good paying jobs, health care and affordable housing to “make life safer, more stable, and secure for all of us.”
Among all voters, the attack ad was favored by 53% to 41% for the Democratic “tough” message. They also favored the attack ad over the Democratic “serious” message, but by a narrower margin: 51% to 45%.
Swing voters in the sample were more skeptical of the GOP language. They favored even the “tough” Democratic response 49% to 34% over the attack. But that group favored the “serious” message over the attack by 56% to 35%.
Voters of color in the sample favored the Republican attack message, with 50% choosing that and 42% favoring the “tough” Democratic response. But those who heard the “serious” Democratic message had the opposite reaction — favoring it by 51% to 43% for the attack.
The survey findings “complicate the conventional political wisdom about what voters make of crime and how all the tough on crime rhetoric will actually land,” Rahman said — especially when “there’s an alternative message of actually being serious about safety.”
Rahman told the Wisconsin Examiner that Vera Action has “spent a lot of time trying to get this data and this guidance in front of candidates” since the poll was completed.
“There is a very strong pull for Democrats to just not talk about crime or immigration at all, because they believe they can’t win on the issues,” Rahman said — leading candidates to focus back on topics such as reproductive rights and democracy.
“I think there’s a fear of doing something that is not usually done, which is really actually creating a contrast between your opponent on this issue, where historically you think you have a deficit.”
Rahman said the organization plans further research after the election, including exit surveys, and will share that with elected leaders as well.
A 17-year-old in Chester County, Pennsylvania has been arrested after multiple shots were fired at a school bus.
Local reports said that police investigation has shown that the Thursday, Oct. 11 shooting was a targeted attack of someone who was getting off a Coatesville Area School District bus.
A statement posted on Facebook by the Chester County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that four individuals were involved in the shooting. The statement further noted that a total of eight shots were fired from two guns and that two of the bullets struck the bus. Local news reported that one bullet hit the bus grille, and another went through the front windshield, sending broken glass toward the driver.
The driver, who is employed by school bus contractor Krapf School Bus, reportedly alerted a dispatcher, who then called the police. A statement from Krapf School Bus indicated the driver drove the students to a safe location and that no one on the bus was injured. The district announced a virtual learning schedule the Friday following the incident for its senior and intermediate high schools.
Police arrested Jaki White-Marshall, 17, for his involvement in the shooting and said he will be tried as an adult. Chester County District Attorney Christopher L. de Barrena-Sarobe urged the remaining three suspects to turn themselves in.
“This is your chance to put the community at ease,” he said.
A Grey-News Gloucester Middle School student has been charged with a crime in connection with an incident on a school bus that led to Maine State police Bomb Squad being called, reported WMTW News.
The incident reportedly occurred the afternoon of Sept. 19, when the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a suspicious device on a Maine School Administrative District 15 bus.
According to the news report, the school bus driver immediately stopped the bus in a safe location and evacuated all 15 middle and high school students from the vehicle.
Authorities said a Maine State Police Bomb Squad technician and bomb detection K-9 team responded to the scene along with Cumberland County Sheriff’s deputies, Auburn police offices, New Gloucester firefighters and Auburn firefighters.
The article states that students had reported they witnessed another student showing and talking about a “suspicious device.”
Therefore, immediate steps were taken, said Lt. Jim Estabrook of Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office via the article. The road was shut down and a safe environment was created. Additionally, all the students on that bus were transported to Memorial school, where they met up with their families.
Authorities later confirmed that the suspicious device that was found at the sixth grader’s home was not an explosive device. The boy is facing a charge of terrorizing and was released to his parents’ custody with conditions.
A Camdenton School District school bus driver in Missouri was arrested on Friday afternoon after driving a school bus with children onboard while intoxicated, reported KY3 News.
According to the news report, school bus driver Brett Emehiser was charged with 20 counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child along with 20 counts of driving while intoxicated with a passenger under the age of 17.
Local news reports say police found the bus stopped at Route EE and Coot Circle Road. Authorities told reporters that the children on the bus had noticed Emehiser driving erratically and almost crashing into other vehicles.
Emehiser was reportedly slurring his words when police approached him. Authorities say his blood alcohol content was .180.
The school district is reportedly working with law enforcement to address this incident. Emehiser is currently being held in the Camden County Jail with no bond.
A Menchville High School Student was shot and killed while at his school bus stop on Tuesday.
The Newport News Police Department said officers responded at 6:18 a.m. to a “ShotSpotter activation” — a program that traces soundwaves to detect gun shots — near the 1200 block of 16th Street near Garden Drive in Newport News, Virginia. According to the Newport News Public Schools Website, there is a school bus stop near 16th Street and Garden Drive. School buses are scheduled to pick up students there at 6:17 a.m.
Police officers arrived at the scene and found a juvenile male suffering from at least one gunshot wound, which appeared to be life-threatening. Local media reported the Juvenile was 15 years old. NNPD said the boy was transported to an area hospital, where he died.
The investigation was ongoing at this report. There was also no confirmation of the school bus being at the scene when the shooting occurred. However, local media outlets reported a school bus left the scene at 7:15 a.m., and students who remained on the bus were safe. Photos of the scene show a school bus is present.
Newport News School Board and Newport News Public Schools released the following statement.
“The Newport News Public Schools family extends our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the Menchville High School student who tragically lost his life today. The school board, superintendent and administrative team will continue to support the family and our students and staff through the difficult days ahead.”
The statement adds that “members of the school division’s support and response team will be available to meet and talk with Menchville High students and staff for as long as they are needed. Support services are available at all schools.”
A school bus driver in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania is facing numerous charges including child pornography, reported WPXI News.
The bus driver, identified as Michael Singer, was also a former police chaplain and allegedly sent explicit photos to one of the students he drove to Westinghouse Arts Academy Charter School.
The investigation reportedly began when the student’s mother told police that her son was being “groomed” by his school bus driver. Police said the inquiry revealed that Singer allegedly exchanged explicit images with the 17-year-old student via a dating app.
Police added that Singer admitted to texting the teen but denied knowing he was speaking to the same person on the dating app.
The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police told local news reporters that Singer served nominally as a police chaplain but had not been actively involved in with law enforcement for several years. He is no longer permitted to access any Pittsburgh Bureau of Police facility.
Singer is facing multiple charges, including possession and dissemination of child pornography, unlawful contact with a minor, and corruption of minors.
A former North Carolina school bus driver arrested for allegedly driving students while impaired is charged with committing 60 misdemeanors for the Aug. 29 incident that occurred with students on board at the time.
Lauren Coble, 45, was arrested Wednesday and charged with seven counts of impaired driving in a commercial vehicle and 53 counts of misdemeanor child endangerment for the students that were in her care.
The Creedmore Police Department said the Granville County Public School administration office contacted officers the morning of Aug. 29 after Coble was observed driving erratically during her route.
“Our department fully supports the administration of Granville County Public Schools and their commitment to ensuring the safety of our students and staff,” said police chief Troy Wheless in a statement posted on Facebook. “We will work closely with the District Attorney’s Office to ensure that anyone who puts the safety and security of our students, staff, and members of the public at any of our schools at risk are held accountable for their actions.”
The school district began posting ads for school bus driver applicants on its X social media page (formerly known as Twitter) the same day of the alleged DWI incident.
According to North Carolina General Statutes, each child endangerment charge carries a possible prison sentence of 150 days plus a possible fine, which means Coble could serve over 21 years if convicted of all charges.
If convicted on each driving while impaired charge, she faces as much as another three and a half years in jail and nearly $30,000 in fines or as little as probation and a $1,400 fine, plus the revocation of her commercial driver’s license.
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