CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – CATS has released troubling video of the tragic and deadly shooting that claimed the life of bus operator Ethan Rivera last month.
Rivera, 41, was gunned down while on duty in a road rage incident on West Trade Street in uptown Charlotte on February 11, 2022, police said.
Detectives were able to identify Darian Thavychith, 21, of Charlotte, as the suspect following a multi-state manhunt involving multiple agencies.
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Thavychith was on the run for more than two weeks after he was finally caught in Shawnee, Kansas.
According to the Shawnee, Kansas Police Department, officers were summoned to a QuikTrip gas station around 11 p.m. Monday, Feb. 28. There, they learned the man in question had an active felony warrant.
QCN confirmed Thavychith has not yet been extradited from Kansas to Charlotte. Thavychith is charged with murder and shooting into an occupied vehicle in connection with the death of Rivera.
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Rivera, a father, had been working for CATS for a year.
“He was coming into his own and he was doing his job driving a freaking bus,” Ethan’s mother Sylvia told QCN. “(Thavychith) didn’t seem to care who Ethan was or who he was leaving behind.”
Queen City News has chosen to only show a portion of the fatal shooting on television. Below is the full video of the incident from different camera angles provided to Queen City News by CATS.
Due to the extremely graphic and disturbing nature of the video, viewer discretion is strongly advised:
CMPD said this is still an active and ongoing investigation. Anyone with additional information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.
City of Charlotte officials are expected to announce actions to address the safety of CATS employees at a news conference Monday afternoon.
