Sylvia Rivera stood behind a lectern Tuesday wiping away tears as she talked about her 41-year-old son, Ethan Rivera, who was shot Friday night during his shift. He was a brother, husband and father.
"Now they don’t have a dad and that’s very painful," Syliva Rivera said, urging anyone with information to come forward and help police find the person who killed her son. "If it happened to my son, your child could be next because this person didn’t seem to care who Ethan was or who he was leaving behind."
Rivera was shot about 9:30 p.m. Friday near West Trade and South Graham streets as he was driving his bus. Police earlier said that Rivera's shooting stemmed from road rage. None of the passengers on the bus that night were hurt in the shooting, but Rivera died a day later at a Charlotte hospital.
Police released photos of the car and the suspect they believe shot and killed Rivera. Police say the suspect is a man and described the vehicle as a black Honda Pilot ranging from the year 2003 to 2005.
CMPD Capt. Joel McNelly said anyone who saw something or may have been in the car with the shooter needs to come forward.
"I’m sitting here right now and I’m looking at the pain in Ethan’s family’s eyes right now," McNelly said. "This is an absolute tragedy, they are heartbroken, they are in mourning. And they deserve for someone to come forward and solve this."
Anyone with information on the shooting can call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600, which can be done anonymously.
You can watch the full police news conference, including the statement from Rivera's family, here: