Northeast Philadelphia

‘My Inhaler Saved My Life': SEPTA Bus Passenger Shot by Stray Bullet

Passenger Quinzel Kane was shot as he rode on a Route 56 SEPTA bus along Torresdale Avenue early on Nov. 22, 2022

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What to Know

  • A passenger on a SEPTA bus became the latest victim of Philadelphia's gun violence early Tuesday morning as a stray bullet struck him in the arm.
  • Quinzel Kane, 35, was thankful to be back with his family after being shot in the arm.
  • He realizes it could have been far worse: "I honestly think my inhaler saved my life," Kane said.

A stray bullet pierced a SEPTA bus rolling along a Northeast Philadelphia street overnight, striking a passenger who thanked a medical device he had in his pocket for saving his life.

"I had my inhaler right here in my hoodie pocket, shattered my inhaler in my pocket," Quinzel Kane first told NBC10's Miguel Martinez-Valle. "I honestly think my inhaler saved my life."

The bullet struck the northbound Route 56 bus just before 3 a.m. along Torresdale Avenue in the Frankford neighborhood, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.

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Kane -- a father who said he was on his way to work -- was sitting about halfway back on the entrance side of the bus when he suddenly felt sharp pain.

"A bullet came through the passenger side of the bus and struck this victim in his arm," Small said.

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Kane said the bullet went in the right side of his right arm and out the other side before striking his inhaler.

Kane said he told the driver to keep going for several blocks to get out of harm's way.

All Kane could think about was his loved ones.

"At that moment it was just thinking about my family -- my kids they depend on me, they want Christmas gifts, they want their daddy," Kane said. "That was the only thing that was going through my mind."

Medics rushed Kane to the hospital where he was treated and then released.

"He's unlucky that he got shot by gunfire, but he's lucky he only got shot in the arm," Small said.

The bullet came from outside the bus as it rolled past Church Street, police said.

None of the six other passengers on board nor the driver were injured, police said. They reported hearing several gunshots.

Police looked for evidence of the shooting near the 4000 block of Torresdale Avenue, Small said, but didn't immediately find anything.

SEPTA said it was reviewing surveillance video from the bus to help in the investigation.

"This was a horrific incident," SEPTA said in a prepared statement. "Our thoughts are with the victim as he recovers from the gunshot wound."

There are additional resources for people or communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. Further information can be found here.

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