The funny thing is, the kid who got shot is my upstairs neighbor in my apartment building. He is completely harmless, maybe a bit goofy, but he is only 20 years old. He is a scrawny college kid who likes to rap to himself a lot. However, he is far from a thug. He is always friendly to our apt managers and is not a gangster type by any means, in fact he works at a mechanic shop in our area. I see him leaving for work at 7am (I work from home at the same time and see him heading off) daily. He actually is quite friendly and nice. He also is pretty scrawny, maybe 5'8 and 150lbs wet.
His story is quite different than the media's spin.

He told me the woman who shot him initially began harassing HIM because he was having a hard time finding his change for the bus as he boarded. He was digging in his pockets, mumbling "c'mon, where is it?" and he said that is when she snapped at him from her seat in the front: "Hurry the fuck up man, get on the bus! I got to get my kids back home!" He said he looked at her and said "chill out, I'm not holding anyone up", and put the rest of his change in the machine. As he was waiting to grab his transfer he said she was still talking very loudly about him, calling him some pretty offensive names. He ignored her, turned on his ipod, and went towards the back to avoid her. He was rapping a song to himself over his shoulder along the way. (maybe that is why the woman said he was "talking to himself" I know this kid pretty well and he has NO mental problems whatsoever!) She immediately followed him to the back and he said these exact words to me: "I though to myself, damn one of them!?" as in, a crazy person trying to start a fight. He didn't want to continue the altercation, and since she was still going off, calling him names and towering over him, he moved towards to middle door as he was going to get off anyway to transfer to the 106. He told me he was hoping if he moved she would leave him alone. Instead, she went back up to the front. She then got off the bus with her troop at the stop he wanted to get off at and began cracking her knuckles, walking towards the back door on the sidewalk right outside of the bus. Emmanuel said he then ran up to the front of the bus, and then ran down the sidewalk to get past the aggressive woman and her troop and get on the 106, which had pulled up behind the 27. The woman was shouting and throwing up her hands as if she wanted to box, and he said as he ran past her he snapped his head and turned to spit in her direction, which he admitted was stupid. He said that is when he got shot in the chest.

*He also said the woman was of a big build -much larger than he was- and was not acting like he was intimidated by him in the slightest. He said she was verbally threatening to beat his ass on the bus, and basically trying to go head up with him outside when she had both her hands up boxing style. He thinks she though was either a meth or crackhead, which I got to agree with.

So the victim's story is slightly different then what the news printed. Considering I have been this guys neighbour for almost two years, and this woman's violent past (Prosecutors said the woman has prior convictions for firearm brandishing and assault in Utah in 1996 and 1997) I tend to believe the victim in this instance over a hothead with a history of violence.