One person was fatally shot after an armed suspect hijacked a Metro bus in downtown Los Angeles early Wednesday morning.
It started around 12:45 a.m. when police received radio calls about an incident on a bus on South Figueroa St. and Manchester Ave., according to the Los Angeles Police Department .
The suspect got on the bus and argued. Some passengers had left and then the suspect held the bus driver at gunpoint, KCAL News reported. Officers believe the bus driver hit a panic button, which alerted police.
“Officers located the bus stopped at 117th and Figueroa,” according to the LAPD. “Officers attempted to communicate with the driver but the bus pulled away and a pursuit ensued.”
Want to get caught up on what's happening in SoCal every weekday afternoon? Click to follow The L.A. Local wherever you get podcasts.
This prompted a slow-speed chase for an hour. The bus came to a stop on Alameda south of 6th Street after spike strips were deployed.
Members of SWAT then boarded the bus and took the suspect into custody, LAPD Deputy Chief Donald Graham told KNX News' Jon Baird.
“They had made the determination to go in, release the pressure on the bus, allow the doors to open, make entry to the bus, and do what they call a dynamic entry which is everybody all in at once instead of parceling it all out because of there was a man with a gun there and potential access to other victims,” he said.
He added that officers found spent cartridges as well as the gun.
A man was found with multiple gunshot wounds. They were taken to the hospital and pronounced dead.
The bus driver and another passenger on board, who was found hiding in the back of the bus, were uninjured.
Mayor Karen Bass issued the following statement:
“My thoughts are with the loved ones of the individual who was tragically killed early this morning. Every Angeleno has the right to go about their lives safely — especially on our public transportation systems and I will be urgently working with the members of the Metro Board as well as our Chair and Metro CEO to enhance the safety strategies that we implemented earlier this year. What happened this morning was completely unacceptable and has no place in Los Angeles. I want to thank the bus operator involved for their courageous and swift response as well as LAPD officers for their work to apprehend the suspect. While the investigation is still ongoing, I want to be very clear that those involved must be held fully accountable to the rule of law.”
L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who also serves as Chair of the Metro Board, sent the following statement on the bus hijacking:
“The hijacking of a Metro bus in Downtown Los Angeles late last night and the tragic murder of a passenger was a nightmare. I am grateful to our Metro bus driver who showed incredible composure in activating a silent alarm to alert law enforcement, and to the LAPD who responded to a difficult and dangerous situation. We still have unanswered questions about how this happened and I expect Metro to work closely with both law enforcement and prosecutors as they seek justice for the victim’s family. We need ways to prevent people from bringing weapons onto our Metro buses and trains, and the sooner we can find solutions to prevent tragedies like this, the better.”
The incident remains under investigation.
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
Local News
