Youth Shot to Death on RTD Bus in Gang Fray

A month ago, 17-year-old Ramon Rios bought a blue Dallas Cowboys cap and had his name stitched into the brim with white thread.

On Monday night, the hat apparently sparked a conflict on an RTD bus with two other young men, one of whom declared blue the color of a rival gang, pulled a handgun from his waistband and shot and killed Rios in front of 15 terrified passengers.

Rapid Transit District officials said it is believed to be the first gang-related murder on one of the system’s buses.

“We have had some gang-related incidents on our buses over the years. I don’t know if we’ve had any homicides,” RTD spokesman Jim Smart said. “We carry 428 million people a year and so the opportunity for societal problems to occur on an RTD bus are certainly there.”

RTD officials said there have been eight incidents involving guns, knives or other weapons on buses this year. In 1988, there were 105 such incidents.

Rios--a 10th-grade student at Jefferson High School and the oldest of five children--was pronounced dead at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center at 7:30 p.m. Monday, minutes after he was shot in the chest near Central Avenue and 79th Street, 10 blocks from his home, Los Angeles police said.

“I have no information that Rios was a gang member,” Detective Lionel Robert said.

The two assailants jumped out of separate windows on the bus and escaped, Robert said.

Although there were at least 15 passengers on the bus, few could give good descriptions because nearly all had ducked for safety between seats.

Pandemonium Understandable

“You can realize the pandemonium in such close confines with a gun being discharged--the safest place is on the floor between the seats,” Robert said.

However, the detective said, “We can draw from what witnesses said, that Rios didn’t understand what they (the assailants) were saying.”

According to a witness who asked that his name not be used, the shooting occurred shortly after the two assailants boarded the bus and walked to the rear, where Rios was sitting. Rios and a friend were on their way home from a local park.

“One them asked, ‘What’s up, Blood?’ ” the witness said. “Ramon said, ‘What?’ ”

The witness said the young man then muttered, “That must be one of those blue rags,” apparently referring to the color claimed by rival Crips members.

‘Tried to Say Something’

“Then he pulled a gun out of his pants and shot Ramon in the left side of the chest,” the witness said. “Ramon turned around and fell. . . . He tried to say something but he couldn’t.”

“He was a good boy and all who knew him said the same,” said Rio’s father, Ramon, 47. “I can’t figure it out.”

Added Robert, “We are hoping someone will telephone us, even if they wish to remain anonymous, and give us a clue.”