Jonesboro, AR – Jonesboro Right Now – A Jonesboro man is behind bars after police said he boarded a school bus and threatened the driver with a gun following a dispute over someone allegedly cursing at his children.

On Sept. 15, Jonesboro police officers responded to Brazos Street and Kingsbury Street for a subject with a weapon. The probable cause affidavit said officers were notified that the disturbance was related to a school on West Washington Avenue.

A witness from the school said the significant other of 30-year-old Africa Elijah Anderson called to file a complaint about the bus driver. During the call, a man could be heard in the background threatening to go to the school and “beat the [expletive] out of” the bus driver. The caller then apologized, thanked the worker, and hung up.

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Officers later met with the bus driver, who said Anderson approached the bus looking for another person who was on board. When Anderson confirmed the second individual was there, he attempted to enter the bus, but the driver stopped him.

Anderson then became “excited” and told the driver to relay a message: if the other person cursed at his children again, Anderson would “bust a cap”. While the driver was unsure of the exact wording, he noted the meaning was clear.

Anderson walked away but quickly ran back toward the bus holding an unidentified object. Children on the bus began yelling that Anderson had a gun. A witness told the driver he needed to leave, while the second victim reported seeing Anderson running to the back of the bus with the object in his hand.

During the investigation, police reviewed bus security video and phone call recordings. Video footage captured Anderson approaching the bus aggressively and later yelling, “I’m gonna come out here with that gun”.

Police noted in the affidavit that both victims involved in the confrontation were school employees acting in the line of duty.

During a Mirandized interview, Anderson admitted to threatening to come back with a gun and confirmed it was him in the video footage and phone recordings. He also admitted to threatening to beat up the bus driver during the phone call, explaining to police that he was angry and trying to protect his kids.

On Sept. 16, Anderson appeared before Judge Barbara Halsey, who found probable cause to charge him with first-degree terroristic threatening, a Class D felony, and criminal trespassing, a Class C misdemeanor. He was given a $100,000 cash/surety bond and ordered to have no contact with the victims. His next court date is scheduled for Oct. 26.

On the same day as Anderson’s probable cause hearing, Jonesboro Public Schools posted a notice on Facebook from the district’s transportation department, saying that it was enforcing a new rule regarding conversations between parents and school bus drivers.

The notice said that bus drivers will no longer be permitted to have conversations with parents at the bus door. If a parent needs to speak with their child’s bus driver, they will need to walk around to the bus window and speak with the driver there.

“This new procedure is being put in place to help maintain a safe environment for our students and ensure that we are always doing what is best to protect them,” the transportation department said.

JPS Assistant Superintendent Dr. William Cheatham clarified with JRN that while the recent bus dispute was not the primary cause of the rule change, the incident highlighted the district’s need to re-educate and re-communicate proper safety protocols for these types of situations.

One exception to the rule, according to the notice, is if the child is being picked up on an unsafe road or the parent is unable to safely walk around to the bus window. If this is the case, they would need to contact the transportation department.

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