Man charged in SEPTA bus shooting

A University of Pennsylvania security guard has been charged in connection with a shooting last month inside a SEPTA bus that left four people injured.

Authorities announced Tuesday that Brandon Ferguson, 24, of Northeast Philly, had been charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and simple assault.

The early morning incident occurred April 18 inside a Route 58 bus on the 7200 block of Bustleton Avenue in Castor Gardens. Ferguson told officers at the time that he opened fire on a group of teenagers in self-defense, authorities said.

Police rushed the teens, ages 15, 16, and 17, to the hospital, where they were treated for gunshot wounds to the legs. A female passenger was also injured, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

The shooting was captured on video, authorities said.

A judge set an unsecured bail for Ferguson at $250,000, which he will have to pay if he misses a court date. Prosecutors also asked that he be forced to turn in an AR-15 rifle and two handguns, according to the DA’s Office.

 

Six shot in Philly

Detectives are investigating separate shootings that left six people injured Tuesday and Wednesday.

Police rushed two men to the hospital just before noon Wednesday after they were shot in the area of 42nd and Cambridge streets in West Philly.

One of the victims, a man in his 20s, was shot in the face and is in critical but stable condition. A 27-year-old man was also shot in the left arm and is recovering at the hospital, authorities said.

No arrests have been made, and police were still working Wednesday to narrow in on the scene of the shooting.

Just after 11 p.m. Tuesday, a 17-year-old boy walked into Mercy Catholic Medical Center in West Philly with a gunshot wound to his left thigh, authorities said. He told officers he was walking on the 5100 block of Ludlow Street when he heard shots but he didn’t see the shooter.

He is listed in stable condition, according to police.

Minutes later, officers were called to the 800 block of N. 16th street in Francisville for a report of a person with a gun.

They found a 58-year-old man who had been shot in the back. He was transported to Jefferson University Hospital, where he is currently on a ventilator in critical condition, police said.

Authorities described the suspect as a 19-to-20-year-old black man with light complexion who is about 6 feet, 6 inches tall and was wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans.

Earlier Tuesday, at 3:20 p.m., police responded to the 1900 block of N. Napa Street in Strawberry Mansion and found blood and fired shell casings. Not long after, a 20-year-old who police believe was the victim of the shooting, arrived at the hospital.

The man had been shot in the lower back and was taken in for emergency surgery, police said. There was no word on his condition.

Investigators described the gunman as a 6-foot black man in his late teens who was wearing a puffy black jacket and sweatpants with a white stripe down the side.

A 30-year-old man was also shot at around 10:40 a.m. Tuesday inside a corner store at 54th and Chestnut streets in West Philly. He showed up to the hospital with a stomach wound, authorities said.

Officers recovered a gun at the scene. Witnesses told investigators a male shooter fled the area in a blue Chevy Impala.

Police did not report arrests in any of the shootings.