Anita Hassan
Houston Chronicle
TEXAS — A man upset that a Spring Branch school bus driver would not let his girlfriend’s daughter board with a bowl of oatmeal has been charged with aggravated assault after he shot at the bus, authorities said.
Spring Branch ISD police officials said Kendell Dwayne Thomas, 29, fired one shot at a district bus around 7:40 a.m. Thursday at the corner of Bingle and Hempstead. Thomas was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Thomas’ girlfriend’s 16-year-old daughter, a Northbrook High School student, tried to board the bus with a bowl of oatmeal, said Spring Branch ISD Police Chief Chuck Brawner.
“It is against the rules to bring any food on the bus,” he said.
She got on the bus, but began verbally abusing the driver and demanded to be let off the bus, Brawner said. The driver had driven a few feet, but radioed his supervisor for permission to the let the girl off the bus, Brawner said.
The girl went home and told her mother and Thomas about the incident. Brawner said the mother called the district’s transportation department and told them “we’re going to go get the bus driver.”
The couple got in two different cars and began searching for the bus, Brawner said.
The bus driver dropped the students off at the high school and was on his way to begin another route when Thomas saw the bus and pulled in front of it, Brawner said. According to the bus driver’s statement, Thomas then stepped out of his vehicle with a pistol and fired one bullet at the side of the bus, which ricocheted off it, Brawner said.
“There are projectile markings 3 to 4 inches below the driver’s window,” he said.
Thomas is being held in Harris County Jail in lieu of $30,000 bail. His next scheduled court appearance is Monday.
Copyright 2008 The Houston Chronicle