A gun accidentally discharged aboard a MARTA Route 5 bus in Sandy Springs late Thursday, July 23, wounding two people and prompting the agency's police chief to renew calls for a firearms ban on public transit.

The shooting happened around 11:15 p.m. at the intersection of Roswell and Glenridge roads, according to MARTA police. The bus, carrying several passengers, came to a stop in the 5000 block of Roswell Road after the gunfire.

Police identified the gun's owner as Cruz Velazquez Guillermo. The bullet struck Guillermo in the left forearm and hit another passenger in the leg, MARTA police said. Both were transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

After the shooting, Guillermo fled the bus. Officers tracked him to a parking lot near the Church of Scientology on Roswell Road, near the bus stop, where they took him into custody, police said.

Police ruled the discharge accidental but said Guillermo faces charges of reckless conduct and aggravated assault. He will be booked into the Fulton County Jail upon his release from the hospital. MARTA Police is leading the ongoing investigation.

MARTA chief pushes for transit firearms ban

The Sandy Springs incident has amplified a policy push already underway at MARTA. Police Chief Scott Kreher said the shooting highlights the risks of allowing firearms on buses and trains.

"If we're going to have hundreds of people on mass transit, we should not allow open carry like we have in the state of Georgia," Kreher told 11Alive.

Kreher has advocated for TSA-style security screening at MARTA stations and a ban on guns aboard the system's vehicles. Any such prohibition would require an exception to Georgia's open carry law, which Kreher said has historically been difficult to obtain.

The shooting came roughly one month after MARTA CEO Jonathan Hunt sent a letter to the Georgia General Assembly on June 17 requesting a weapons ban on trains and buses for non-law enforcement personnel, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. MARTA's bus drivers' union has also called for safer working conditions, citing what it describes as a pattern of safety incidents.

The investigation remains open. Anyone with information can contact MARTA Police at 404-848-4900.