The NYPD released video Wednesday showing the man who temporarily blinded a MTA bus driver with a red laser.
Surveillance video captured inside a BX15 bus in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx on Nov. 18 shows the suspect appearing to point a silver object, presumably a laser pointer, toward the front of the bus. Police say that the laser was reflected off of the rear-view mirror, blinding the the bus's driver.
The driver, Kevin Johnson, told NBC 4 New York that the experience was "terrifying" because he wasn't sure what the light was. He said he hit the brakes and pulled over after he was hit with the laser, and the suspect ran away.
Johnson, who visited an eye doctor Thursday, doesn’t appear to have any permanent damage.
The bus attack came less than a month after NBC New York’s Chopper 4 was hit by a green laser. The helicopter was heading toward downtown Brooklyn to cover the arrest of an alleged bus thief when it was struck by the laser, which can be seen in Chopper 4 footage.
Authorities, including NYPD and the Federal Aviation Administration, were contacted and guided to the location — a health food restaurant on Fulton Street — with the help of Chopper 4. Two people were taken into custody, and one of them, a 20-year-old cook at the eatery, was arrested, police said.
Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
