Students with Special Needs Forced to Duck for Cover on School Bus as It Was Hit by Gunfire in New York City

Students with special needs on a New York City school bus were forced to duck for cover as the vehicle was struck by gunfire.

The bus was near East 163rd Street and Trinity Avenue in the Morrisania area of the Bronx when it was unexpectedly hit at around 2:20 p.m. local time on Friday, March, 21, Fox 5 New York, ABC 7 NY and News 12 reported.

The driver of the bus kept going for around half a mile amid the gunfire, to get the children to safety. At least three shots struck the bus, with one hitting the back window and two others hitting the side of the vehicle, according to the outlets.

No one inside the bus was injured in the incident, ABC 7 NY reported.

ABC 7 NY said there were half a dozen students on the bus, alongside the driver and a school bus matron. The latter ducked and covered two of the children as the vehicle sped away, the outlet said.

“He was scared about those kids,” Jose Polanco, a coworker of the bus driver, told ABC 7 NY.

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Police said, per the outlet, that the bus was caught in the crossfire as four suspects, all wearing black, fired shots at each other. They are believed to have fled on foot following the shoot-out, authorities added.

The search for the suspects is ongoing, CBS New York reported.

As the shooting occurred near a playground and a school, students at the nearby educational institution were put into lockdown for around 30 minutes past dismissal, ABC 7 NY reported.

New York City Public Schools and the New York Police Department (NYPD) didn’t immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Sunday, March 23.