BOSTON (WHDH) - An investigation continued Wednesday after police said a parent allegedly punched a school bus driver Tuesday afternoon.
The incident happened at a bus stop for the Trotter School at the intersection of Kenilworth and Dudley Streets in Roxbury around 2:30 p.m. when police said the woman punched the bus driver in his stomach and pulled out a knife in front of children on the bus.
Police said the parent also broke the bus’ rear view mirror before fleeing the scene.
The driver had abdominal pain and was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, according to police. He is expected to be okay.
The Trotter School serves students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade.
The principal of the Trotter School sent a letter to families after the incident, reading in part, “The Trotter School, alongside the entire Boston Public Schools, has no higher priority than providing a safe, affirming learning environment for our students to thrive.”
“Our buses are considered an extension of the classroom,” Principal Sarita Thomas said.
Thomas said school staff and the Boston Public Schools Department of Transportation were notified after the incident. Families of students on the bus were also immediately notified, Thomas said, and able to pick up their students.
Thomas said Boston police would investigate the incident and asked anyone with questions or concerns to reach out to her or the BPS Department of Transportation.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper reacted on Wednesday, calling the attack unacceptable.
“Any time there’s violence toward anyone in our community, we stand in unison,” Skipper said.
Skipper said school officials followed up with the bus driver “to make sure he’s doing okay physically.”
“[O]ur understanding is that he’s home,” Skipper said.
This incident came a matter of weeks after another attack on a school bus driver last month. The prior incident happened at Woodrow and Wollaston Terrace in Boston when officials said a parent punched a bus driver in the face. The driver was left with a swollen and red left eye and a busted and bloody lower lip, according to a Boston Police report.
“This is now the second time that a situation like this has happened,” Wu said after Tuesday’s incident.
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