‘I could have died’: Charlotte bus driver says company mistreated him after shootout
“Glad the charges were cleared up for me,” Fullard said. “But I was injured. I still have the bullet in my arm.”
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - For the first time since gunfire rang out on a Charlotte Area Transit System bus on May 18, the driver who pulled a firearm on a passenger and shot him is sharing his side of the story.
On Wednesday afternoon, officials with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said that they did not anticipate any charges being brought forth against driver David Fullard in the incident.
While he’s thankful to not face any legal ramifications from what he says was self-defense, Fullard also says he feels mistreated by the company that fired him after the shooting.
“Glad the charges were cleared up for me,” Fullard said. “But I was injured. I still have the bullet in my arm.”
He didn’t want his face to appear on camera for the interview, but Fullard showed WBTV the wound where the bullet entered and a bulge near his shoulder where he says the bullet is still lodged inside his arm.
In a statement after the shooting, RATP Dev USA, the company that CATS uses to contract bus drivers, said in part, “Our number one concern is the health and well-being of our operator who was injured.”
Fullard takes exception to that public statement, saying that nobody from RATP Dev USA or CATS ever reached out to check on his well-being after the shooting.
“They were concerned about the bus operator’s and my well-being. The CEO never even reached out to me,” Fullard said. “No CATS representatives never reached out to me.”
Fullard says he’s been driving public buses for nearly 20 years, and only recently felt the need to carry a gun with him to work.
He says with the recent rise in violent attacks on public transportation, it’s the only way he or other bus drivers can feel safe from attacks.
“And this is the way they treat us. That’s bad,” Fullard said. “You know you really get disgusted; you really get your heart broken.”
Fullard was terminated by RATP Dev USA following the shooting and says his health benefits were terminated as well. His family has started a GoFundMe campaign to help him pay for some of the medical bills required for his injuries.
WBTV reached out to CATS and RATP Dev USA to ask about the possibility of Fullard being reinstated with no criminal charges expected against him. As of Wednesday night, there has been no response from either company.
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