A U.S. Army recruit in training recently escaped from his camp in South Carolina with a rifle and hijacked an elementary school bus on the way. But a dozen schoolchildren on the bus asked him many questions, frustrating him and eventually released the driver and all the schoolchildren, abandoning his weapon and getting arrested.
On May 6, Jovan Collazo, a recruit from New Jersey who was training at Fort Jackson, S.C., escaped from the camp. He had a rifle with him, but no ammunition.
At about 7 a.m. that day, Collazo, 23, hijacked a school bus on Interstate 77. He was wearing a T-shirt with the word “Army” on it, as seen on the bus’s surveillance camera. He got on the bus and told the driver to “Shut the door and drive!”
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said at a press conference that Collazo told the driver that he didn’t want to hurt him, but that he wanted him to drive him to the next town. He also asked all 18 children in the car to sit in the front.
The curious children, however, began asking a host of questions that frustrated Collazo, such as, “Are you going to hurt us?” “Are you a soldier?” “Are you a bus driver?”
Lott said he thinks the kids’ questions added to Collazo’s frustration.
After six minutes, Collazo told everyone on the bus to get off, then drove a short distance himself before leaving his rifle in the car and walking away. He was eventually arrested, but no one was killed or injured in the entire incident.
Collazo is in the third week of a 10-week basic combat training program at the Fort Jackson base. Base Commander Milford Beagle Jr. said he believes Collazo fled the camp by climbing over a high wall and through a dense wooded area because he was homesick.
Lott said Collazo has been charged with 19 counts, including kidnapping, armed robbery and carjacking.
Collazo is also facing court-martial for stealing a gun and not going outside on leave. Bigel II said he does not believe Collazo will be able to continue his training in the Army.
Recent Comments