VIDEO: Seattle man survives after repeat offender shoots into moving bus
Convicted felon charged in Seattle Metro bus shooting
Surveillance video captured the moment Rashad Mackey, a convicted felon, raises a gun and fires three shots at a moving bus in Seattle.
SEATTLE - Surveillance video and court documents obtained by FOX 13 Seattle reveal the harrowing details of a July 5 shooting aboard a King County Metro bus.
The shooting in Seattle’s SODO District left a local artist clinging to life and a 10-time convicted felon facing a potential life sentence under Washington’s "Three Strikes" law.
The victim, Donald Pleasant, 36, was riding the bus home after spending a normal summer day with his 12-year-old son. He ended the night in critical condition at Harborview Medical Center after being shot three times in the chest and back.
According to prosecutors, the gunman was 36-year-old Rashad Tyree Mackey. He is now charged with assault in the first degree and unlawful possession of a firearm.
Escalation over a missing phone
According to charging documents filed by the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, the violent encounter started over a lost cell phone.
Witnesses told police Mackey boarded a King County Metro Bus wearing a white "Scarface" T-shirt and a white beanie hat. After realizing he couldn’t find his phone, Mackey became visibly agitated, pacing the aisle, searching the floor, and patting down his pockets.
A passenger offered his phone to help, allowing Mackey to dial his number twice. State Department of Corrections (DOC) records later verified that the number dialed was the exact phone number Mackey had registered with his community corrections officer days prior. This would later become an important piece of information in the investigation.
As tension grew, Mackey pulled a gun from his waistband and threatened to "smoke" the passengers on board. Mackey got off the bus at 5th Avenue South and South Lander Street. Surveillance video obtained from transit authorities shows Mackey waiting on the platform as the bus began to pull away. He then pulled out his gun and fired three rounds through the rear windows of the moving bus.
Inside, video captured the moment Pleasant was hit in the chest and back. He grabbed his chest and yelled, "I've been shot!" as panicked passengers called 911.
In court filings, prosecutors described Mackey’s actions as "unconscionably violent" and demonstrating a "complete disregard for human life."
A miraculous survival
Pleasant’s injuries were nearly fatal. Seattle Fire Department medics rushed him to Harborview Medical Center. On the way, Pleasant went into cardiac arrest and "crashed" twice, requiring medics and hospital staff to revive him. He underwent three emergency surgeries to save his life.
Pleasant’s brother, Robert, recalled the terrifying moment the family received the news.
"It was one of those calls you just hope you never hear," Robert said. "The details that we were provided, I didn't think that he was going to make it, so it was almost one of those things where you were preparing for the worst."
Pleasant is a local muralist who has contributed artwork across the Seattle area and was enrolled in school to become a barber. Robert said his brother now faces a lengthy recovery.
"He's made some attempts to walk around the hospital and things like that, trying to get up and about," Robert shared. "So, a lot of good progress, just not 100% there. It's still a long road for recovery... We still are fighting for his life."
The Pleasant Family started a GoFundMe fundraiser to support Donald in his recovery and help pay for medical expenses.
The investigation and arrest
Following the shooting, Real-Time Crime Center (RTCC) surveillance cameras tracked Mackey walking northbound. Cameras captured him taking off his "Scarface" shirt and beanie and tossing them in a trash can outside a Jack in the Box on 4th Avenue South before boarding another bus toward Ballard.
Detectives were able to quickly narrow in on Mackey thanks to a transit police officer who recognized his description from a separate active investigation involving a knife assault on a bus in February 2026. A DOC officer who supervised Mackey also positively identified him from the surveillance images.
On July 10, 2026, when Mackey showed up for a routine check-in at a DOC office in Des Moines, King County Sheriff's Deputies took him into custody.
"How does this happen?"
Mackey’s extensive criminal record has raised sharp questions from the victim's family regarding community safety and supervision.
Mackey is a 10-time convicted felon with violent convictions dating back nearly two decades, including multiple counts of second-degree assault and unlawful firearm possession. Having been released from prison in November 2025, Mackey spent less than eight months in the community before the shooting occurred in SODO.
"I think the biggest disappointing factor in all of this is that he's had a past and that he was out in the streets," Robert said. "How is he so able to get into the community without a lot of the checks and balances that should be put in place? How did this happen? And especially a long-term criminal, like just how does this happen? ... Grateful he's off the streets, right? But how do we prevent this from continuing to happen?"
Facing Life Without Parole
Mackey is currently being held in King County Jail on $5 million bail. He has been officially charged with first-degree assault with a firearm, and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.
Because Mackey already has two prior convictions for "most serious offenses" — second-degree assault in 2007 and 2018 — prosecutors confirmed he qualifies as a persistent offender. Under Washington State’s Initiative 593, known as the "Three Strikes" law, a conviction on the first-degree assault charge carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Mackey remains in custody awaiting trial.
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The Source: Information in this story comes from original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle reporter Franque Thompson.