Madrid bus driver rescues wounded man from shooter intent on finishing him off

Raúl, a Madrid city bus driver who saved a man from being shot dead on Thursday night, said he felt a little scared not knowing what was going on after seeing an attacker with a gun in his hand.

The 39-year-old driver, who has been working for the Madrid municipal transportation company since 2006, says it was the passengers in the bus who really saved the victim, a Ukrainian national, by stopping the bleeding from a gunshot wound he had already sustained.

"I was driving down with my bus, on the 118 line, towards Embajadores, when I saw a man walking along, bleeding profusely. I started to honk and he got up on the sidewalk."

Moments later, Raúl saw another man going after him, and thought this might be his attacker. "I stopped the bus and the wounded man crossed towards a street café, but the people there did not help him even though he was hurt. He was very weak and walked towards General Ricardos street."

The driver kept honking to warn other drivers not to run him down. All the while, the gunman kept on his trail. "He was walking slowly after the guy, who was running with the little strength he had left. He clearly wanted to live. [...] I had the impression nobody was reacting. I moved the bus slowly across the street and opened the door and he just managed to clamber in." The attacker rushed toward the bus but had no time to jump on board. The driver called the police and requested passenger assistance. The gunman was later arrested.