LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Investigators have made arrests in the shooting death of a woman who was hit by a bullet as she rode on a Lincoln city bus, police said Friday.
Joel Jones Jr., 27, of Lincoln, was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder and several weapons counts in the Thursday afternoon death of 69-year-old Sharon Johnson, the Lincoln Journal Star reported.
Johnson was the only passenger on the eastbound bus when a bullet entered it through the driver’s side and hit her in the head, investigators said. Johnson was taken to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Police Chief Jeff Bliemeister said video evidence showed a handgun being extended out of a window of a car as it passed the bus. Investigators contend Jones purposely fired at the bus but didn’t target Johnson.
“As far as what we’ve discovered thus far in the investigation is this was a random act of violence,” Bliemeister said.
Police also arrested Jarell Wheeler, 19, on suspicion of being an accessory to second-degree murder. Investigators believe Wheeler was driving the car.
Johnson’s killing is Lincoln’s third homicide in July and the city’s seventh for the year.
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