2 shot by police at Megabus stop

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

Police in central Ohio shot a man accused of threatening a Megabus driver with a weapon later found to be a pellet-like gun, a police spokesman said Monday.

A bus passenger also was injured by police gunfire Monday morning, said Columbus Police Sgt. Rich Weiner. Both men were treated and released from the hospital.

Weiner said police were called to the Megabus stop in downtown Columbus about 11 a.m. by people who reported seeing a man carrying a gun onto the bus.

Police say the man purportedly held the weapon to the bus driver’s head and demanded that the driver give him control of the bus.

Weiner said an arriving officer saw 26-year-old Arsenio Rodriguez with the gun and fired multiple times, injuring him and a passenger.

Weiner said Rodriguez is in police custody and has been charged with robbery. It was not immediately clear whether Rodriguez had an attorney.

The gun looked realistic to police, Weiner said. He described it as Airsoft gun, similar to a BB gun or paintball gun.

Weiner said the suspect has a history of mental illness, and his last known address was in Maryland.