A man was shot three times at a WeGo bus stop in Nashville on Friday, marking the third violent crime related to the city’s bus system in under 10 days.
Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) confirmed the shooting and arrest of 19-year-old Dejuan Prime in a post to the social media platform X, explaining the crime happened on the steps of 4th Avenue North.
Police said the shooting followed “an argument” between Prime and an unnamed 20-year-old who remains in stable condition.
Dejuan Prime, 19, is being charged with attempted criminal homicide for shooting a 20-yr-old man this morning on these steps on 4th Ave N. The victim is in stable condition. The shooting followed an argument btwn the two. Central Precinct officers quickly arrested Prime nearby. pic.twitter.com/GhD2O1HWaG
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) May 24, 2024
It was previously reported the victim was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for treatment, with WKRN revealing Prime claimed the victim attacked him with pepper spray before he used his firearm.
The incident marks the third violent crime reported at a Nashville transit station or bus stop since May 16, when MNPD announced the arrest of 31-year-old Kenneth Johnston for the alleged shooting of an 18-year-old man “on the steps of the WeGo building at Rep John Lewis Way [and] MLK Jr. Blvd.”
MNPD revealed the crime was allegedly motivated by drugs and revealed that cocaine and marijuana were recovered from the crime scene.
A drug motive is under investigation. Apparent cocaine & marijuana were recovered. The 18-year-old victim also had a gun and fired. He is in critical-stable condition. Johnson will be charged with felonies related to the shooting later tonight. pic.twitter.com/VnxNUIDLhG
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) May 17, 2024
Days later, on May 20, 30-year-old Dericka Scivally was arrested after she allegedly stabbed a Nashville bus driver with a kitchen knife. Reports suggest the bus driver sustained injuries to her hands while struggling as the attacker attempted to cut the driver’s throat.
After the stabbing, Mayor Freddie O’Connell requested a full safety review for the public transportation service.
The spate of crimes began about one month after O’Connell announced his “Choose How You Move” transportation referendum, which, if approved by Nashville voters, would require spending $6.93 billion over a 15-year period for new street lights, sidewalks, bus lines, and lengthened operating hours.
Portions of O’Connell’s referendum have been called “downright inexcusably awful” by Nashville’s Beacon Center, whose director of Policy and Research, Ron Shultis, wrote in a recent analysis that the plan raises “severe concerns about Metro getting away from the basics of good government.”
The O’Connell referendum could also be illegal, according to Nashville Tea Party Founder Ben Cunningham, who asserts that portions of O’Connell’s plan do not comport with the Tennessee law that empowers local governments to levy sales taxes for transit improvements.
Cunningham separately called the referendum a “greendoggle” and “absolute ripoff of the taxpayer” that will ultimately be financed with property tax hikes on Nashville citizens.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
And the mayor wants me to ride the “NoGo” buses. You can forget that. The guy is an idiot.
Facts are, buses and bus stations are not safe places. Most people know that already.