Family devastated by shooting death of man on Greyhound speaks out

By Courtney Allen

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    NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WSMV) — A Nashville man who was traveling on a Greyhound bus to be with his family did not make it home alive.

His girlfriend said they had an on-and-off relationship but that he recently told her he didn’t want to miss any more of his daughter’s life. He booked a trip home to be with them, but he never made it off the bus.

1-year-old Kamariauna was a daddy’s girl. When she saw photos of him she would kiss the phone screen and say “dada.”

Kamariauna’s mom said photos will now be the only memory of him their daughter has left of him.

“It breaks my heart,” 20-year-old Krissiauna Shell said.

Jami Bell, 23, was shot and killed while he was on board a Greyhound bus stopped at the Nashville terminal early Saturday morning. His girlfriend, Shell, said he was traveling back from Florida to see their daughter take her first steps.

“One thing we wanted more than anything was to have a child together,” Shell said. “We miscarried babies and everything years prior and now we finally got our little girl. He is not here to watch her grow up.”

Witnesses at the scene of the shooting said the gunman ran off the bus and down the street.

Bell’s sister, Kiera Fuston, said he was supposed to call a friend to pick him up from the terminal that night, but no one ever heard from him.

“My biggest regret was not checking up on him on his way home, but I know he knows that I love him,” Fuston said.

Their father was also killed due to gun violence when Bell was also just a year old. Shell said the loss weighed heavy on him.

“That is why I am nervous for her because I see how up until he died how his dad dying impacted him.”

Shell said she has been with Bell since she was 13 and is thankful to be left with a piece of him in Kamariauna.

“I see him written all over her,” Shell said. “It used to aggravate the hell out of me. It used to bother me so bad, but now it makes me happy to look at her.”

The family said Bell was on Facetime with a friend on the bus. In the background, someone told him it was rude to be on the phone and they wonder if that may be connected.

Metro Police said they have been pursuing strong leads and reviewing video of the suspect running from the scene.

The family is calling on Greyhound to have more security and screening on buses like metal detectors.

WSMV 4 reached out to Greyhound and they told us that safety is their top priority and are working with local authorities on this incident.

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