A school bus driver in St. Louis, Missouri, was charged after police say he pulled over, punched two students in the face, and then left all the children on his bus on the street.
The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office charged 51-year-old Lamar Murray with two counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
According to a probable cause statement cited by KMOV, Murray was a substitute driver for the Hazelwood School District.
Police say that on May 2, he was driving some students home from school when he became angry at several students at the back of the bus.
He stopped the bus, walked to the back, and punched one student in the face, according to the police affidavit. Then, he allegedly held one student face down on a bus seat, punched him, scratched him, and pulled his hair.
In a Facebook post, the Florissant Police Department stated that when officers arrived at the scene, Murray and the school bus were nowhere to be found, but numerous students were lingering on the side of the road. Some of the students told police about the altercation.
Later, two male juveniles arrived at the police department with their parents to file a police report. Police said both boys had visible injuries.
Authorities found Murray at a bus garage, where they took him into custody.
The school district released the following statement about the incident:
The safety of our students is our number one priority. We are aware of an incident that occurred between a bus driver and several of our students. The behavior of the bus driver is outrageous, unacceptable, and not consistent with any action that we would expect in addressing our students.
Law enforcement is handling the matter.
We cannot comment on individual students, but the district will provide additional support for those students and families, as well as the students who witnessed this, and any other students needing support.
Murray was jailed on a $75,000 bond. He is expected to appear back in court for a bond reduction hearing on May 12.
The bus’s surveillance video reportedly captured the incident, but neither authorities nor the school district has released the footage.
St. Louis County Prosecutor Melissa Price Smith stated that the prosecutor’s office had already reviewed the footage and decided to file charges based on the video evidence.
“I know there are videos of exactly what occurred on the bus and our assistant prosecuting attorney who issued those charges, Blair Lant, was able to review all of the surveillance of what happened in making her decision to issue these serious charges,” Price Smith told KTVI.
Murray’s lawyer believes the video will show that his client was acting in self-defense.
“I strongly suspect that what we’re going to find when we look at that video is that Mr. Murray was exercising his rights to defend himself,” Robert Taafe Jr. said. “Somebody like Lamar Murray, who is 51 years old and who’s been cleared by the school to drive a bus, and who has driven for public transportation like [Atlanta-based] MARTA, doesn’t start beating on children or someone under the age of 17 for no reason.”
Hundreds of people flooded the Florissant Police Department’s Facebook page with questions about what led up to the altercation and what provoked Murray into fighting the students. Others said they wanted to see the security footage before making any hasty judgments.
“Ok tell us what provoked him. You can’t tell me these kids are fully innocent. He should have stopped the bus and waited for police,” one person wrote.
“I don’t think with this man did was wrong at all these kids are very disrespectful and I want to see the video of what they did or what happened prior to him doing this I can’t just see this bus driver pulling over and beating on these children for no reason people need to teach their children how to obey the elders also sit down on the bus when someone is transporting them because safety is everything,” someone else added.
“I would still like to see the whole video. I am by no means saying his was right, but I would Like to know why he reacted as he did,” another person commented.
“don’t work with kids if you don’t have self control. this ain’t that era 💯,” another comment read.
The EdWeek Research Center surveyed 990 teachers, school administrators, and district leaders in December 2024, 48 percent of whom said student misbehavior has increased since pre-pandemic school years. Educators also reported a drop in student morale in a 2023 survey.
