Misunderstanding after passenger passes gas on Las Vegas bus leads to shooting

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A misunderstanding over giggling after a passenger on a Las Vegas bus passed gas led to a shooting in May and a man’s arrest last month, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned.

Dominic Johnson, 25, a convicted felon, was charged with attempted murder and battery, among other charges, connected to the May 3, 2023, shooting. Police in Eudora, Arkansas, arrested Johnson on Sept. 16, they said. He was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on Sunday, records showed.

Johnson was a passenger on the RTC bus when it stopped around 2:30 p.m. on Eastern Avenue near Poppy Lane, documents said. Video shows a person, whom police identified as Johnson, standing up in the back of the bus, drawing a gun from his waistband and pointing it at another passenger.

Johnson then fired four rounds at the passenger before he ran off the bus, police said. The victim sustained wounds to his hand, stomach and leg.

Shortly after the shooting, police searched a nearby apartment where witnesses saw the suspect running toward, documents said.

Police later interviewed the shooting victim who told them he and his girlfriend were on the bus and were laughing about a smell when “[he] remembered hearing a loud pop,” documents said.

The victim told police he never spoke with Johnson and had no confrontation with him “and was flabbergasted at what could have caused Johnson to target him in such a violent manner,” police said.

In surveillance video, Johnson appears to mind his own business for about 10 minutes, police said.

At one point, the victim and his girlfriend “can be heard laughing” about the flatulence, police said. Johnson appears in the video “looking at them while he scratched his head.”

Johnson appears to become more irritated at the laughing, and after several minutes, pulled the gun and fired the shots, police said about the video.

Police later matched a prior booking photo and a social media profile of Johnson, police said. Police also served a search warrant at Johnson’s home, finding a gun, ammunition and clothing.

Johnson was barred from having a gun for a prior grand larceny of a firearm charge, police said.

Pro Temp Judge Nancy Oesterie set bail at $270,000 during a hearing Tuesday. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Oct. 17.

The May shooting followed several high-profile incidents of violence on RTC buses, including a man’s murder in February.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.