March 08, 2024
Philadelphia Police/YouTube
Philadelphia police are searching for a man wanted for fatally shooting 37-year-old Carmelo Drayton after a dispute on a SEPTA bus near Broad Street and Snyder Avenue on Tuesday. The surveillance image above shows the suspect.
Police are searching for a man who fatally shot a fellow SEPTA bus rider after they got into a dispute on a bus in South Philadelphia on Tuesday night. It was one of four shootings that occurred this week on or near SEPTA buses, but it is not connected to any of the others, authorities said.
Surveillance video released Friday shows the altercation that led to Tuesday's shooting, the suspect firing his gun and the suspect fleeing on the Broad Street Line. Carmelo Drayton, 37, was killed in the shooting, police said. It occurred at 6:40 p.m. near Broad Street and Snyder Avenue.
The video shows the suspect boarded a Route 79 bus first, followed by Drayton, and the two initially sat apart from one another. The suspect then sat down next to Drayton, who became agitated and stood up. When the suspect stood, Drayton grabbed him and pulled him toward the bus doors. The two appeared to argue as the suspect stood outside the bus, pulled out a gun and fired multiple shots.
The suspect then left the scene and entered the Snyder Avenue subway station, the video shows. Additional footage shows him walking around the platform before boarding a southbound train, police said.
Note: The video below contains graphic violence.
Investigators said the suspect, who wore a face mask, has been seen on SEPTA property on numerous occasions prior to Tuesday's shooting. He may have a dark mark or tattoo under his left eye, police said.
Police have increased patrols along major corridors in response to the four shootings involving SEPTA buses and stops this week.
On Sunday, 27-year-old Sawee Kofa was fatally shot in the Oxford Circle neighborhood of Northeast Philadelphia after an argument escalated on a Route 59 bus, investigators said. The next day, 17-year-old Dayemen Taylor was killed and four other people were injured, including two teenagers, during a shooting at a bus stop in Ogontz. And on Wednesday afternoon, eight students from Northeast High School were shot by three suspects as they were boarding a SEPTA bus in Burholme.
No arrests have been made in any of the shootings.
Police said anyone with information about the shooting on Tuesday night can call the homicide unit at (215) 686-3334.
