‘Merry Christmas’ greeting leads to stabbing on Miami-Dade bus, police say
A man was stabbed and hospitalized after wishing a stranger “Merry Christmas” on a Miami-Dade Transit bus during the afternoon of Christmas Day, Miami police say.
Reynaldo Ortega, 73, was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and remains in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center as of Friday afternoon, records show. He has pleaded not guilty.
Around 12:20 p.m. on Christmas, a man boarded the bus near Southwest Second Avenue and Southwest Second Street downtown and was speaking to a friend inside when Ortega entered their conversation, according to an arrest report. He told Ortega “Merry Christmas” and tried to shake his hand, but Ortega swatted it away and began arguing with the man before pulling out a knife.
The bus driver stopped the ride and separated the two, with Ortega staying toward the front and the other man walking to the back of bus calling 911. With a 911 operator on the phone, the man walked back up front to ask the bus driver to tell them what happened.
As the man was returning to the rear, another physical fight started between him and Ortega, which led to Ortega giving chase and stabbing the man in his left shoulder, the report read.
The man was able to get off the bus and was taken by Miami Fire Rescue to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he was treated with stitches.
A Miami police officer rushed to the scene and found Ortega to be the sole person left on the bus. They arrested him and found a knife on him, according to the arrest report. Police said Ortega told them that the man tried to shake his hand and he refused.
Ortega continued to say that he pulled out a knife and stabbed him because the man was “being aggressive with him,” the report read.
After arresting him, authorities also discovered he had a warrant out for driving with a suspended license.
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