HOUSTON – A former METRO bus driver appeared in court Monday after being arrested for stabbing a passenger during a fight outside a bus last month.
Keaton Nguyen, 55, is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The incident happened Dec. 21 near the 12400 block of Greenspoint Drive.
OUR FIRST REPORT: METRO driver detained after stabbing passenger during fight at Greenspoint Transit Center
After the incident, investigators spoke with witnesses and reviewed surveillance footage to piece together a timeline of events.
Security video showed a man, later identified as the victim, appearing agitated and yelling at the suspect, later identified as Nguyen. Court records said the man used profanity and appeared upset because Nguyen’s bus had passed him without stopping at a previous stop.
Nguyen stopped the bus and exited, along with the angry passenger. The passenger then slapped Nguyen across the face, and a physical altercation followed.
During the scuffle, Nguyen reboarded the bus and retrieved an item from his backpack before exiting the vehicle again and looking for the passenger. Authorities have not confirmed what the item was, but court records said investigators believe it was a bladed object, such as a knife or box cutter.
Footage showed the passenger walking away from the bus along the sidewalk before Nguyen confronted him again. Investigators said Nguyen concealed the object until he was close enough to resume the fight, at which point they believe he stabbed the passenger.
After the incident, a witness told investigators she saw Nguyen throw the weapon into an open lot near a wooded area.
Although both men were involved in the initial altercation and court records allege the passenger assaulted Nguyen by slapping him first, investigators said the stabbing occurred after the fight had ended, when self-defense could no longer be reasonably argued.
Nguyen is no longer employed by METRO, court officials confirmed during Monday’s hearing.
Nguyen was granted a $50,000 bond.
Anna Carpenter, the director of communications of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, provided KPRC 2 with the following statement:
Keaton Nguyen was detained at the scene. He was relieved of duty from employment and was taken into custody Monday Dec. 29th, without incident. He has been charged with Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon and was booked the same day.