Maryland county school employee union leader says bus driver, student traumatized after violent incident
A Prince George's County, Maryland labor union leader for educational support professionals in the district talked about the need for more security after teens attempted to kill a student on a bus last week.
After three teens attempted to shoot a 14-year-old student in the head on a Maryland school bus last week, a labor union representing bus drivers and other school employees is calling on the district to protect employees and students with more security measures.
"If we don't make some changes, if we don't make sure that these work sites and these workplaces are safe, then eventually the school yard is going to end up being a graveyard. That's not something that we want," Martin Diggs, president of Prince George's County ACE-AFSCME, said.
Three masked teenagers boarded a Prince George's County public school bus last week as the second-to-last middle school student was dropped off. Video onboard captured the teenagers aiming and firing a gun at a 14-year-old boy's head three times. When the gun misfired, one teen brutally beat the student before exiting the bus. The young suspects are still on the loose.
"What I hear is [the victim's] traumatized," Diggs told Fox News Digital. "Basically he fought for his dear life."
Maryland bus attack suspect photos released by Prince George's Police Department (Prince George's Police Department)
Diggs said bus drivers in the county were fearful after the violent incident.
"This is not something that we're trained to deal with, a weapon on a bus," he said. "We're not trained to handle situations like this."
The labor union leader represents approximately 6,000 employees, from bus drivers to school secretaries and custodians in Prince George's County Public Schools. He said current protocols leave bus drivers unsafe.
"After you notify dispatch that there's a weapon on the bus, then that's it. There's nothing else to be done. So you don't know what's going to happen," he said.
Martin Diggs, president of ACE-AFSCE chapter 2250 in Prince George's County Maryland. (Fox News Digital)
While bus drivers in the county have witnessed "multiple fights," he said, they've been left without resources in these situations.
"If a bus driver stands up to intervene then the bus driver is the one who is looked at as having done something wrong," he said.
Diggs is calling for the district to hire more security personnel to patrol school campuses and facilities on a regular basis. He also called for more cameras and uniforms to improve safety.
He described how the situation could've easily turned out deadly for the student or school employees.
Police are searching for 3 teenagers who tried to shoot a student on a bus in Maryland (Fox 5 DC)
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"They are traumatized. This is not the norm," he added.
The labor union leader said he doesn't want the district's administration to wait until someone gets killed on a school bus to take action. He was disappointed by the administration's actions so far.
"They're not taking this serious enough," he said, describing this latest violent incident as "one of many" where the district had fallen short of meeting safety expectations.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Prince George's County Public Schools for comment.