Dozens of mourners gather for vigil honoring slain Seattle bus driver

Dozens of bus drivers, friends, and family gathered in Seattle’s U District neighborhood on Saturday to mourn Shawn Yim. The 59-year-old bus driver was stabbed in the chest several times while on his route Wednesday morning and died in a nearby alley.

The large crowd, huddled around the site of Yim's death near 15th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 41st Street, spilled into the road. Seattle police closed one lane of 15th to make room for attendees.

RELATED: Fatal stabbing of King County Metro bus driver highlights Seattle transit safety concerns

Paul Margolis, who’s been with Metro for 22 years, led a prayer and read a poem at the start of the vigil. The crowd then stood in silence for five minutes to mourn Yim, with little noise other than ambient sounds of buses zipping by in the background.

Friends of the slain bus driver brought Metro uniforms, hats, and Yim’s favorite food: spicy microwave ramen noodles. They also placed flowers at two separate memorials, respectively near the site of the stabbing and the alley where Yim died.

Many vigil attendees were visibly upset, openly weeping. Hours earlier, police had arrested 53-year-old Richard Sitzlack, the man accused of killing Yim, following a multi-day search.

RELATED: Man arrested in connection with fatal Seattle bus driver stabbing

Yim’s death marks the first killing of a King County Metro bus driver on the job in 26 years. Even so, Wednesday’s stabbing has underscored safety concerns among Metro drivers, who say there’s been an uptick in violence toward transit operators

Metro operator Gregory Callier said driving a bus in the middle of the night is unsafe and employees feel they have few options.

"We shouldn't have to go through this, and we need help,” he said. “And it's a shame our brother had to die. Man, it's a shame… it's not right."

Metro driver Levi Elenzano, who’s been with the agency since 2012, was at Saturday’s vigil with his wife and two young kids. He also expressed fears surrounding job safety.

"I shouldn't have to be so anxious and so scared, right?” he said. “Because I need to go home to them, and that's why what happened here is very sad. [Yim] never went home.”

The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 587-Seattle has outlined several demands of the county, including secure, isolated compartments for bus drivers, a significant increase in the number of Metro transit police officers, and the creation of a regional task force on transit safety and security.

Liz Brazile and Ann Dornfeld contributed to this report.