Columbus Division of Police said a man was left "bloodied and dazed" after an assault and they are still searching for the suspects.
Officials say five people assaulted the man on June 24 on a COTA bus near Parsons Avenue and East Whittier Street on the city's south side.
The police believe the same five suspects have committed previous assaults and disturbances on COTA buses. None of the suspects have been identified.
Jeff Pullin, a spokesperson for COTA, said the transit provider takes security “extremely seriously.”
“We have 10 cameras on every bus rolling at every moment to make sure that incidents like this can be recorded, and we can share with local law enforcement to make sure that they have all the tools they need to find people and bring them to justice,” Pullin said.
COTA has a three-tiered response system made up of strategic response specialists, a team of supervisors and special duty officers from Columbus police. Together, the people working in this system are meant to address all security concerns relating to passengers and operators on COTA buses.
COTA keeps track of assaults on their buses going back to 2020, and have reported 18 assaults on their buses so far this year. That total ties with the amount of reported assaults from 2024 and is the highest amount reported since COTA started keeping track of assaults in 2020.
- 2020 – 14
- 2021 – 16
- 2022 – 9
- 2023 – 5
- 2024 – 18
- 2025 – 18
Of the victims assaulted during these years, five were taken to the hospital. The assaults range in severity from someone being pushed to more violent attacks.
COTA can only ban someone for 24 hours as a punishment before working with the proper authorities.
After a person is formally charged, they can receive a temporary to lifetime ban, depending on the final word from a judge.
