Man charged with assaulting Seattle bus driver

Officers were called to the area of 3rd Avenue and Stewart Street at about 10:50 pm following a report that a transit driver had been assaulted. Police said they found the driver, 64, visibly shaken and suffering facial injuries.

According to investigators, Long attempted to board the bus but was refused entry by the driver, and activated a barrier separating the operator from the passenger seating area. Police said the driver activated the barrier after recognizing the man from previous disturbances on other buses.

The suspect became agitated and punched the driver in the face, police said. After stepping off the bus and posturing at the victim, the suspect allegedly re-entered and struck the driver a second time before walking away from the area along 3rd Avenue.

An analyst with the Seattle Police Department’s Real Time Crime Center reviewed surveillance footage and captured video of the incident, police said. The analyst provided officers with an image of the suspect as patrol units searched nearby.

Police said officers located Long, who matched the description in the photographs, near 3rd Avenue and Columbia Street. Several people on the bus reported witnessing the assault, according to police. The suspect was arrested on investigation of third-degree assault and booked into the King County Jail.

On Thursday at Long’s first appearance, King County prosecutors charged him with assault in the Third Degree, a felony, and requested his bail be set at $60,000. Assault in the Third Degree specifically notes felony assaults against transit drivers, but the judge set bail at $10,000. Long remains in custody.

Since 2023, there has been a more than 80 percent increase in attacks on transit drivers and an over 53 percent increase in passenger assaults on Seattle's light rail. King County Metro previously shut down the bus stops in Chinatown-ID following widespread illicit activity. The region has gained notoriety for the sale of stolen products, open-air drug use, and the sale of drugs. Additionally, it was the site of a mass stabbing.

The attack comes almost a year to the day after a homeless illegal immigrant from Venezuela with an extensive criminal record was charged in the fatal stabbing of King County Metro bus driver Shawn Yim in Seattle. 53-year-old Richard Sitzlack pleaded not guilty in January to all charges and is currently being held in King County Jail on $5 million bail.