On-duty MTA bus driver hit with pepper spray in Manhattan: NYPD

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, Manhattan (PIX11) — An MTA bus driver was pepper-sprayed while behind the wheel in Washington Heights, police said late Wednesday in a public appeal for tips.

The victim, 35, was driving near West 162nd Street and Edgecombe Avenue around 9:30 a.m. Sept. 15 when he was flagged down by a person on the street, authorities said. 

When the driver opened the doors of the bus, the assailant hopped aboard, immediately reached a hand around the divider toward the driver’s face, and discharged pepper spray, officials said. The attacker then ran back off the bus and fled via bike westbound on West 162nd Street, police said.

First responders brought the victim to an area hospital, where he was listed in what authorities described as stable condition.

Investigators, who described the attack as unprovoked, released surveillance images of the suspect. It was not immediately clear whether there were passengers aboard the bus at the time of the assault.