PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia prosecutors have charged a 53-year-old man with dozens of offenses in connection with the shooting on a SEPTA bus in Brewerytown that injured four people. The announcement coincided with the district attorney’s argument in the state Supreme Court about jurisdiction over SEPTA.
Authorities say Hakim Bryant fired nearly a dozen rounds on a SEPTA bus while riding near 33rd Street and Girard Avenue on May 10, after he got into an argument with a group of teenagers.
Prosecutor Kelsey Gimaro, with the Gun Violence Task Force, said all four victims — a 14-year-old, two 16-year-olds and a 39-year-old woman — sustained minor injuries.
“There were about 10 [people] in range of where he was shooting and everyone on that bus that survived, is traumatized by the violence they witnessed and barely escaped,” Gimaro said.
“We can actually see the moment that the defendant opens fire into a bus full of people, normal people, kids, people on their way to work, everyone just trying to go about their day and utilize SEPTA as they should be allowed to do.”
Bryant faces dozens of charges including attempted murder, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and related offenses.
The announcement comes the same day as lawyers for District Attorney Larry Krasner argue to the state Supreme Court that Act 40, which appoints a special prosecutor to handle criminal cases on SEPTA in Philadelphia, is unconstitutional.
Krasner said the law strips away power given to him by the voters — adding that Philadelphia is the only county affected.
“It’s about whether for some reason in the most diverse city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, their vote counts for less,” he said. “The fundamental point of that argument is that it has, in a discriminatory way, devalued the votes of Philadelphians.”
During oral arguments, the justices questioned why the district attorney believes a law passed by legislators would be illegal, since they are the ones who determine state law.