In an act of shocking and random violence, 21-year-old Marcel Da’jon Wagner, a Black/African American male, lost his life on the evening of October 3, 2023, in Seattle, Washington. He was a passenger on a King County Metro bus traveling through the White Center neighborhood when the tragedy unfolded. Wagner appeared to be asleep in a rear seat of the bus as it moved along its route near Southwest Roxbury Street and 15th Avenue Southwest.
Around 5:00 PM, another passenger, wearing a
full-face ski mask, boarded the bus and sat across from Wagner. For approximately 12 minutes, there was no interaction between the two individuals. As the bus approached a stop, the masked passenger stood up, pulled the "stop" cord, and then, without any provocation, drew a handgun. He fired multiple shots at Wagner at point-blank range, striking him in the head and neck. The sudden violence stunned the other passengers on board. The shooter then yelled at the bus driver to open the doors, firing two more shots at the door before exiting the bus and fleeing the scene. First responders arrived to find Wagner unresponsive, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation into the senseless killing was launched by the King County Sheriff's Office. Detectives used surveillance footage from the bus and nearby businesses to track the suspect's movements after he fled. Through their investigation, authorities identified the suspect as 17-year-old Miguel Rivera Dominguez. A friend who was with Rivera Dominguez on the bus at the time of the shooting later confirmed his identity to investigators, stating he had no prior knowledge that the shooting would occur and that neither of them knew the victim.
After a month-long search, Miguel Rivera Dominguez turned himself in to the King County Sheriff's Office on November 6, 2023. Despite his age, he was charged as an adult with first-degree murder and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. Prosecutors described the killing as a "senseless execution of a total stranger" and requested a bail of $3 million. The court documents highlighted the deliberate and unprovoked nature of the attack on a seemingly sleeping and defenseless victim, leaving a community to mourn the tragic loss of a young life.
