Police search for suspects who attacked, tried to rob an on-duty Community Transit bus driver

Snohomish County Sheriff’s investigators are looking for two people accused of attacking and attempting to rob a Community Transit bus driver in Marysville.

It happened on Feb. 26 just after 7 p.m. at the bus stop near Alder & Grove.

According to deputies, the driver stopped as two males, 16 to 25 years old, walked up to the bus.

“As the two suspects attempted to get on the bus, he said ‘Hey it’s going to be about 10 minutes’ – they came on anyways. They asked the bus driver for cash, he declined, they then demanded his wallet holding him at knifepoint,” said Courtney O’Keefe, a spokesperson for the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies say the would-be thieves then attacked the driver with an umbrella.

“I believe he was struck once over the head with the umbrella and then he was able to actually pull the umbrella from the suspect’s hands,” said O’Keefe.

Deputies say the two ran off, without any money. The driver was not seriously hurt.

There was also a passenger on the bus who was not hurt.

At that same bus stop, KIRO 7 talked with Lisa Gamble who’s been a driver for 34 years. She says there’s a growing unease, considering the numerous recent attacks against local bus drivers.

“It’s brought out a lot of issues – hopefully we can get better security, better coverage out here for us drivers, for the safety,” said Gamble.