That shooting of a Metro bus driver that scared the crap out of otherwise genteel West Hollywood Sunday morning might not have been as random as it appeared, though it was nonetheless shocking.

Charges filed by the district attorney against 41-year-old suspect Anthony Craig Chambers allege that he was lying in wait and pulled a shotgun from a suitcase and pulled the trigger twice after walking up to driver Alan Thomas on an otherwise empty bus.

Today Chambers was charged with …

… “special circumstance murder,” according to a statement from the L.A. County D.A.'s office.

That special circumstance was “lying in wait,” the office states. Chambers was also charged with “a special allegation of personal use of a firearm.”

Thomas, 51, had worked for Metro for five years.

According to the D.A.'s statement:

Victim Alan Thomas was driving on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood when Chambers boarded the bus just after 9 a.m. Shortly after boarding, the defendant allegedly drew a shotgun from a suitcase, approached the victim and shot him twice.

Reports indicated a suspect crawled out of one of the bus' windows and waited for sheriff's deputies to arrest him. A Metro supervisor happened to be nearby and reportedly witnessed a suspect climb out of the vehicle.

It happened just west of La Cienega Boulevard on Santa Monica — around the corner from the West Hollywood sheriff's station.

Sounds personal to us.

Chambers was being arraigned this afternoon in Beverly Hills Superior Court.

Prosecutors said they'd decide whether or not to seek the death penalty against Chambers later.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

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