A teen is accused of fatally shooting an elderly man on a public bus in Denver, allegedly because the grandfather’s leg was blocking the aisle, KUSA-TV reports.
According to authorities, 60-year-old Richard Sanchez was riding a Regional Transit District bus on January 27 around 6:41 p.m. when a 13-year-old boy attacked him.
The shooting occurred near South Federal Boulevard and West Mississippi Avenue, just a few blocks from Sanchez’s home.
Sanchez suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The medical examiner ruled Sanchez died by homicide, according to The Denver Post.
A second man was injured in the incident but was treated and released at the scene.
Police on Thursday arrested the youth suspect on suspicion of first-degree murder, although prosecutors have yet to determine what charges to file. The boy’s name has not been released publicly because he is a juvenile.
“At this stage of the investigation, it appears there was a verbal exchange between the suspect and victim about the victim’s leg blocking the aisle on the bus, and the suspect then shot the victim,” the Denver Police Department said in a press release.
Sanchez’s loved ones were not told he had been fatally shot until they reported him missing on Monday. They said they were heartbroken over his death.
“I don’t understand how someone could do that to such an honest person,” Sanchez’s grandson, Joseph Chavez, told Fox 31. “It’s been hard because we didn’t know where he was at, and the whole time, he was at the hospital and they didn’t contact us. Nobody was there with him during his last breath.”
Chavez said he wanted to remember his grandfather for the joy he brought to the world.
“He was always happy,” Chavez told Fox 31. “He was a really happy dude.”
[Feature Photo via Shutterstock]
