Man Allegedly Shoots BB Gun at Special Needs School Bus

IRVINE, CA -- An 18-year-old local man was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of shooting a BB gun at a school bus carrying a special needs student, striking the bus driver on the chin.

Irvine police responded about 2:15 p.m. to a report of a school bus and car being struck by pellets at Yale Avenue and Hicks Canyon, Irvine police Cmdr. Matt Mahoney said.

A car with two high school students aboard and a bus carrying a special needs student that were passing through the intersection were struck by BB pellets, Mahoney said.

The two girls in the car avoided injury as the rear window of the vehicle was shattered, but the bus driver sustained a minor injury when struck in the chin with a pellet, Mahoney said.

The bus driver declined medical treatment at the scene and the 17-year-old special education student on the bus was unhurt, Mahoney added.

Paul Joseph Horn, of Irvine, was booked on suspicion of shooting a BB air rifle from his backyard and was being held on $100,000 bail, Mahoney said.

It was the third such reported shooting in the same area over the past two days, Mahoney added.

The first incident was Monday when two concrete workers in the area said they were struck by pellets in the morning, Mahoney said. The men were unhurt, he added.

A vehicle going through the intersection Monday night was struck by pellets, but no one was injured, Mahoney said.

—City News Service