Man charged with shooting school bus driver on I-35W pleads not guilty

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The St. Paul, Minnesota man charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting a school bus driver after a crash on Interstate 35W in Minneapolis earlier this year pleaded not guilty Thursday. 

Prosecutors charged Kenneth Lilly, 31, with attempted second-degree murder and second-degree assault in the incident on Feb. 5. His trial is set for Sept. 23. 

According to the charges, the bus driver, a contractor for Minneapolis Public Schools, was trying to merge onto I-35W near Chicago Avenue when the bus apparently scraped the back of Lilly’s sedan. The bus driver was reportedly unaware he had hit anything. 

Video from the Minnesota Department of Transportation showed Lilly stopping his car in the lane of traffic. He got out and attempted to get on the bus. Eventually, he pulled out a handgun, walked towards the front of the bus and fired five shots into the windshield.

Lilly called 911. He told police he shot the driver because he feared for his safety. He was arrested at the scene. 

The bus driver suffered non-life-threatening injuries. There was one student on the bus, but they were not injured. 

Lilly has an evidentiary hearing on July 25.