EXCLUSIVE: Hijacked Metrobus shooting victim's mother upset with Metro

WASHINGTON - As FOX 5 first reported, a Metrobus was disabled and then shot at last Friday. One passenger was wounded in the shooting and it was the second Metrobus hijacking incident this summer.

In a FOX 5 exclusive, the mother of the victim spoke with us about why she is angry at Metro.

Earl Coates and his brother were riding on the Metrobus Friday on Elvans Road in Southeast D.C. They were going to get a sandwich at Subway,

Suddenly their bus was hijacked, and according to Metro, the driver got out to try to fix the bus. That is when shots were fired.

Earl, who is 21 years old, was shot twice -- in the arm and in the back. His younger brother, Tommy, who is 17 years old, was with him during this terrifying moment.

"He is upset that he witnessed his brother get shot and I think he was more upset because there were so many babies and children on that bus," said their mother Tamarra Coates.

Earl was not the target in the shooting, but was just an innocent victim. He has been hearing-impaired his whole life.

"I don't think those loud shots were loud to him," said Tamarra. "As I said, the hearing aids help him hear the loud and the real low."

Metro will not release footage of the shooting because of the investigation. On Wednesday, we saw both D.C. police and Metro Transit Police at the crime scene.

Earl's mother told us that after he was shot, he was so terrified that he took off running. He went to two houses to ask for help, but no one would assist him. He finally passed out on the street at an apartment building blocks away.

Earl is still in the hospital with a chest tube.

"The bullet entered his back on the right side and it bruised a small portion of his lung," his mother said. "It shredded -- the doctor said he's never seen bones broken like that before. Not cracked, not shattered. It shredded a couple pieces of his rib."

A spokeswoman for Metro said that they were told that Earl's injuries were considered non-life threatening. His mother believes that Metro is downplaying the seriousness of the crime.

"I want them to know that my son was shot on that bus and I want them to know that his injuries are life-threatening -- very life-threatening," she said.

Tamarra Coates wants the city to prioritize all innocent crime victims in Washington.

"I'll be glad when the black lives really feel like in their heart that black lives matter," she said. "That's number one, but number two -- for the most part -- I'll be glad when every human being values every human life."