Tucson police search for person after fight involving weapons on bus

People riding or waiting for Sun Tran service near Broadway Boulevard and Kolb Road encountered a police response Sunday afternoon after a fight involving weapons was reported aboard a public bus. Tucson police are searching for one person who left the bus after the altercation, and officers believe that person may have been carrying an unidentified weapon. As of Monday morning, police had not located the individual and had not released a description.

The Tucson Police Department said officers were called to the area at about 4:15 p.m. Sunday. The reported fight occurred on the bus, but the person sought by police got off before officers arrived or completed their initial response. That led officers to search the surrounding area, which includes a major east side intersection used by people traveling along Broadway and Kolb.

Police have not said what type of weapon was involved, how many people were part of the fight, or whether anyone was injured. They also have not identified the bus route or said whether the vehicle continued operating after officers responded. No description of the person being sought was immediately available. The investigation remained active Monday, and authorities had not announced an arrest.

The incident adds to a series of recent violent fights reported in Tucson public places and transportation settings. In one earlier case, a man was injured during a fight at a bus stop near the Veterans Affairs Hospital on Feb. 24. Two days later, one person was injured and another was detained after a fight and stabbing near the Tucson Rodeo Parade.

Another reported case involved an armed man who was arrested after a fight aboard a Sun Tran bus near Speedway Boulevard and Main Avenue on Feb. 27. On March 4, police reported separate incidents involving fights and stabbings, one at the Sun Tran transit center near Stone Avenue and Wetmore Road and another at a gas station near 29th Street and Craycroft Road. In the latter case, police arrested 24-year-old Felix Hill on an aggravated assault charge.

The recent incidents have drawn attention because of their frequency and because several occurred in places used by people who may not have a practical alternative to public transportation. A television report described the latest case as the sixth fight involving injuries it had reported in less than two weeks, although police have not said that all of the cases are connected. The Sunday incident is also distinct from the earlier cases because investigators have not publicly confirmed an injury or identified a suspect.

The broader sequence of violent incidents comes as Tucson police investigate a separate, serious assault near the MSA Annex. Police arrested 21-year-old Sylviano Joseph Garcia on March 10 in connection with a March 5 attack. He faces charges of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and aggravated assault with serious injury.

According to the interim complaint in that case, Garcia and the victim knew each other and had been seen walking together for at least an hour before the attack. Investigators said Garcia stabbed the victim from behind, struck the victim repeatedly after he fell, and then pushed him down again before allegedly striking him more than 30 additional times. A nearby home’s doorbell camera recorded the attack, and investigators also reported seeing the two men together at a Circle K earlier that day. The victim remained hospitalized in critical condition as of March 11 and was not expected to survive, according to comments made during Garcia’s initial court appearance. Garcia was being held on a $1 million bond and could face more serious charges if the victim dies.

Garcia’s arrest also brought attention to his criminal history. The Arizona Department of Corrections said he had been released from state prison about a month before the MSA Annex assault. He had been convicted in Pima County in 2023 of armed robbery and aggravated robbery and sentenced to four years. Prison records also listed disciplinary findings involving assault on staff, fighting, aggravated assault on another inmate, theft, and tampering with security devices. His next court appearance was scheduled for March 23. That case is separate from the unresolved bus incident near Broadway and Kolb. For now, Tucson police are asking anyone with information about the person who left the bus to contact investigators, while riders and nearby residents are left waiting for more details about what happened and whether the person was located.