Police: Father of Seven Killed on NYC Bus After Confronting Rider Over Loud Phone Conversation
A father of seven is dead after a dispute with a reported teenager over a loud cellphone conversation on a New York City bus turned deadly this week.
According to CBS News, 41-year-old Jonathan Pettigrew was fatally shot about 2:30 p.m. Monday after confronting another passenger who was speaking loudly on a phone aboard a bus in the Bronx.
At some point during what was an exchange of words, the other passenger — described by the New York Post as being between 13 and 16 years old — opened fire on Pettigrew.
Surveillance video showed passengers rushing off the bus before the victim collapsed on a sidewalk with a gunshot wound to the stomach.
Pettigrew was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to WABC-TV.
Yesterday in NYC…
Jonathan Pettigrew (41) asks a “teen” on an MTA bus to lower his phone volume — the “teen” kills him: pic.twitter.com/xDdbr3Cqgg
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) June 9, 2026
The NYPD told CBS News that the complaint over the volume of the phone call was what ultimately led to the shooting.
Pettigrew had apparently asked the suspect to stop yelling into his phone before the situation escalated into a murder in broad daylight.
Pilice said the killer fled the scene immediately after he opened fire.
He has not been arrested or identified.
Neither WABC nor CBS News offered a specific description of the alleged killer, other than to tell the public to be on the lookout for a young male in a white shirt.
As of Thursday, no arrests had been announced, and investigators had not released any images of the suspect.
Jonathan Pettigrew was just murdered on a bus in NYC on his way to pick up his young daughter after asking a rider to lower the volume on the phone
Police and media are only identifying the suspect as a “teen with a white shirt” pic.twitter.com/jKLiTdaDbC
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 10, 2026
Pettigrew, who leaves behind seven children, had recently been awarded full custody of his 7-year-old daughter.
Avery Pettigrew, the victim’s brother, told CBS News that the family was grappling with how to tell his niece that her father had been murdered.
Jonathan Pettigrew worked at a restaurant and was a sports fan, his brother said. He added that he could not believe the life of someone he loved had been taken the way it had.
“They told me my brother was deceased and I didn’t believe it,” he told the network.
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