TCU to place armed and unarmed guards on shuttle buses after Tuesday incident

Armed and unarmed guards will be placed on shuttle buses at TCU, a university official said Tuesday, after one shuttle bus driver opened fire on another on campus.

Eric Hampton, 52, of Fort Worth was arrested and faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and weapon on school property after the incident in the 3600 block of Cantey Street on campus, police said.

The gunman didn’t hit the second driver, but he suffered minor injuries after the suspect “bumped” him with a shuttle bus as he fled, said Bradley Perez, Fort Worth police spokesman. No other injuries were reported in the incident, which took place on Cantey Street just north of Amon G. Carter Stadium.

Police did not release the name of the injured bus driver, who was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital with minor injuries, according to Matt Zavadsky, MedStar spokesman.

Hampton was taken into custody without incident in the 1200 block of Sierra Blanca at 8:45 a.m., Perez said. A handgun was found at his home and confiscated, police said.

The campus was on lockdown for about an hour while police searched for the suspect. Morning classes were canceled, but normal campus operations resumed by about 8 a.m.

The two employees of Roadrunner Charter, a contractor with TCU that provides shuttle bus service, had gotten into an argument, Perez said.

“We are not sure what caused this argument, but one made a bad decision to pull a weapon and fire,” Roadrunner Charter CEO Ron Willis said in a prepared statement Tuesday afternoon.

TCU spokeswoman Holly Ellman said there were no students, faculty or staff on the buses at the time.

Willis said the company has a zero tolerance policy: No firearms are permitted on any of its property or buses.

“Our first concern is and will always be the safety of our customers and our employees,” Willis said. “We are fully cooperating with the Fort Worth and TCU police departments and providing any assistance they require.”

Although Texas campuses were permitted to allow concealed handguns on campus in August, Texas Christian University opted out. Only police officers are allowed to carry weapons on campus, said Adrian Andrews, assistant vice chancellor of public safety, at a news conference after the incident.

Andrews said school officials were not aware that any Roadrunner drivers carried weapons but will be placing armed and unarmed guards, possibly TCU police officers, on the buses for the next couple of weeks.

TCU also will assess its policies with Roadrunner in light of the incident, Andrews said.

Hampton has been arrested in Tarrant County on two other incidents, according to Tarrant County criminal court records. He was arrested in 1990 on a theft charge and again in 1992 on a charge of unlawful carrying of a weapon. Both charges were dismissed in 1993, court records show, but it was not clear why.

The incident “could be a catalyst for additional training between Fort Worth police and TCU,” Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald said at the news conference.

The shuttle bus driven by the shooter was found at Interstate 35W and Risinger Road, Perez said.

Shortly after the assault, Roadrunner buses were running on campus, carrying passengers.

TCU has an enrollment of 10,394, according to its website.

This story was originally published November 7, 2017 at 7:53 AM with the headline "TCU to place armed and unarmed guards on shuttle buses after Tuesday incident."