A man with a lengthy criminal record had been involved in an argument on a Broward County Transit bus before he pulled out a gun and started shooting, killing two men and wounding two other passengers, sources said Friday.
The accused gunman, 34-year-old Jamal Meyers, was in the back of the bus when he started opening fire Thursday afternoon, the sources told NBC 6.
Police said the bus driver heroically forced her way through traffic and pulled up outside the Fort Lauderdale Police Station Thursday afternoon, potentially stopping more people from being shot.
"The bus driver in this particular case, her quick actions I am sure saved lives,” Acting Police Chief Luis Alvarez said during a news conference Thursday. "So kudos to her. She deserves to be applauded for her actions.”
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According to an arrest report, Meyers pulled the semi-automatic handgun from his front pocket and fired 12 rounds at the victims. He then reloaded the gun and fired another nine rounds, the report said.
As the bus pulled up to the police station, an officer heard the gunshots and saw Meyers exiting the bus. The officer pointed his weapon at Meyers and ordered him to lay on the ground, and Meyers was taken into custody, the report said.
The firearm was later found on the bus, the report said.
The two men killed in the shooting were identified by police Friday as 32-year-old Gregory L. Campbell Jr., of Lauderdale Lakes, and 41-year-old Danny Colon, of Tamarac.
Another bus rider was in critical condition, while a fourth was seriously injured, officials said.
Three more people were treated at the scene for minor injuries caused when the bus hit their vehicles.
In a news release Friday, police said they're still investigating the motive behind the shooting. They're also asking anyone who may have known of had contact with Meyers in the days leading up to the shooting to contact them.
Through public records, NBC 6 found where Meyers had been living in Oakland Park and several neighbors recognized him from his mugshot. None of them indicated he had caused any problems.
One resident said he saw Meyers Thursday afternoon heading out and said he was carrying a bag with him. Sometime after that, Meyers boarded the bus.
Meyers faces charges of murder, attempted murder, weapons possession by a convicted felon and violating probation. He remained held without bond Friday, jail records showed.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement considers Meyers a serious habitual felon who has had numerous encounters with the legal system since 2003.
His arrest record includes felony battery, false imprisonment, fraud, burglary, grand theft and drug possession, among others.
According to court records, Meyers was sentenced in 2021 for 10 crimes committed between 2017 and 2019. Each conviction carried concurrent three-year sentences, so he ended up serving just five months in state prison after being given credit for more than 800 days awaiting trial. He was released on Jan. 8.
Florida Department of Corrections records showed he served just under two years in prison from December 2009 to November 2011. He served another 20 months in prison from March 2015 to November 2016, records showed.
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