DALLAS (1080 KRLD) - The suspect in Sunday's hijacking of a DART bus was wanted for questioning in a murder in San Antonio and had an arrest warrant for assault south of Houston.
Police say Ramon Villagomez, 31, got onto a bus in Richardson and started shooting through the windows. They say Villagomez forced the driver to lead police on a chase through Richardson, Rowlett, Rockwall and then back into Rowlett.
"You could not have asked for a worse situation," says Garland Police Lieutenant Pedro Barineau. "We have a situation where somebody has taken a driver of a bus hostage, is shooting at the police as we are pursuing them, and there are people around, all over the roads."
A DART police officer and Garland police officer were shot; a Rowlett officer was injured when he was hit by broken glass. All three should recover.
The driver of the bus and the only other passenger on board were not hurt.
"This is a very dangerous situation. It's very scary in nature," Barineau says. "We have an active shoot-out going on from a mobile bus, where a gunman is mobile inside the bus as well as officers pursuing this person."
Barineau says officers shot and killed Villagomez when the bus hit spike strips that had been laid on the frontage road of President George Bush Turnpike, and the bus stopped. He says Villagomez exchanged gunfire with police when he got off the bus.
"This is very dangerous for everybody involved: those who were on the bus as well the officers pursuing him, as well as the public in general," Barineau says.
Villagomez was wanted for questioning in San Antonio for the murder of his girlfriend. Brazoria County, south of Houston, had also issued an arrest warrant for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Garland police say Villagomez had assaulted a relative in Brazoria County.
The Texas Department of Public Safety and FBI have joined the investigation.
