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Surveillance video shows moment man shoots into CATS bus with passengers on board

CHARLOTTE — Police have arrested a man accused of shooting into a Charlotte Area Transit System bus with passengers on board.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said shortly before 11 p.m. Tuesday, the bus driver saw Scott Randolph Mayfield, 34, leave the bus and then allegedly pull out a pistol. Investigators said he then allegedly fired a shot that hit the side of the bus.

The incident happened near a bus stop in Grier Heights, near the intersection of Ellington Street and Billingsley Road.

Authorities said people were on the bus at the time of the shooting. They said the bullet’s impact bruised a passenger’s shoulder, but the passenger was not hit by the bullet.

On Monday, CATS released surveillance video of the bus at the time of the shooting. In the footage, two people can be seen walking next to the bus and then gunshots can be heard.

CMPD said Mayfield is a convicted felon. He was charged with shooting into occupied property, possession of a firearm by a felon and damage to property. Court records show police arrested Mayfield Thursday morning.

Court records also show Mayfield had only been out of jail for a few hours on separate charges before police say he committed the crime.

Though Mayfield was charged with three crimes in this shooting, records show he also has several pending charges including assault on a female, resisting a public officer and possession of a firearm by a felon -- among others.

‘It’s only a matter of time before somebody else is injured’

“It makes me kind of nervous,” one bus rider told Channel 9. He was sitting at the stop where the shooting happened and was rattled to hear about it.

“I hope it wouldn’t happen again, and I’m glad they caught the person,” he said.

Safety has been a big concern for CATS drivers after one of their own was murdered on the job. And even those who aren’t drivers are worried about being safe in their communities.

James Cain lives in the house behind the bus stop and said he is thankful no one was seriously hurt.

“It’s horrible. It’s horrible. It shouldn’t be like this,” he said.

He was worried about what could have happened if circumstances were just slightly different.

“I feel good that nobody was injured, but I just feel bad that it’s only a matter of time before somebody else is injured,” Cain said.

He and his neighbors were upset by the violence.

“It’s not worth dying to catch a bus,” Cain said.

Mayfield is being held in the county jail and is due in court Friday morning.

(WATCH BELOW: District Attorney’s Office will not seek death penalty in CATS deadly road rage shooting)