Man Arrested for Stabbing Bus Passenger 33 Times as Driver Continues Journey Through Las Vegas

Aaron Cole is accused of the stabbing murder of Dominique Lucas on a Las Vegas bus

A grand jury in Nevada has seen video evidence of a man stabbing a fellow passenger to death on a bus as it travels through Las Vegas.

Aaron Frank Cole, 59, is charged with the murder of Dominique Lucas, 30, on Feb. 26 while both men were aboard an RTC bus.

The video was used as evidence at Clark County court and obtained by 8 News Now. It shows the men sitting near each other when they start to argue.

"I wasn't bothering you," Lucas can be heard telling his attacker, moments before Cole launches toward him. Lucas is then shown moving towards the front of the bus saying "let me off," as the driver continues on the route.

Cole is accused of stabbing the victim 33 times during the attack – which lasted about four minutes.

At one point the bus doors briefly open but then close again. Tragically, Lucas is heard pleading for the bus driver to help.

Man Stabs Bus Passenger 33 Times

The driver activates a panic button and speaks with a dispatcher. He is heard saying to Lucas, "Man, come on, you want to get off the bus?"

Two minutes after the frenzied attack started, Cole is seen in the video getting out of his seat and stabbing Lucas several more times. The bus eventually stops and opens its doors four minutes after the attack began.

Transcripts cited by the New York Post say the bus driver told the court: "I mean, the first priority is your own safety, so I've got to make sure I'm safe enough to operate that bus for the other passengers also."

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Cole was arrested less than two weeks prior to the deadly bus attack for an unrelated assault, local outlet Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

He was charged on Feb 16. over an alleged assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of carrying or concealing a dangerous weapon, added 8 News Now, which also cited legal documents stating that he was approved for bail and deemed "low risk."

Cole remains in custody over the murder charge and a future court date is yet to be scheduled.

A spokesperson for Keolis North America, which employs the driver, told PEOPLE the bus could not pull over immediately because of a "heavy stream of traffic." The spokesman said the bus cannot move when doors are opened, and the driver "needed to negotiate two lanes of traffic to get to the far right-hand lane and pull into the curb to safely open the doors."

The spokesperson said: "The driver hit the emergency button which notified dispatch communications, giving the situation priority status, and then the driver immediately called 911. In this instance, the driver was ensuring the safety of all passengers on board."

Related Articles