One person dead after bus hijacked in Los Angeles
One person is dead after a gunman hijacked a Los Angeles city bus overnight, leading police in a pursuit around the city for more than an hour before the suspect was taken into custody.
A person was found on the Metro bus early Wednesday with gunshot wounds, then died at a local hospital, Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Donald Graham said. The bus driver and a passenger were rescued from the bus after police eventually stopped it with tire-puncturing spike strips before a SWAT team moved in for the rescue, he said.
Hours after being taken into custody, the suspect’s motive remains unclear, a law enforcement source told CNN. The alleged gunman is still currently being interviewed by homicide detectives, the source said.
The incident comes as transportation officials in the city use emergency funds to enhance safety on metro buses, where they say a troubling pattern of violence is plaguing bus operators.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass thanked the bus operator and police officers for their bravery and quick response.
“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,” Bass said Wednesday in a statement.
Bus’ panic button helped alert police
Police responded around 12:45 a.m. to reports of a gunman on the Metro bus, Graham said, adding an emergency panic button in the bus also alerted police.
The bus was initially reported in an industrial section of densely populated South Los Angeles.
Between initial 911 reports and when police found the bus in South Central LA, stopped around 117th and Figueroa streets, several people were seen exiting it, he said.
The bus then drove away, leading police through downtown Los Angeles.
The bus driver continued to operate the bus “in as safe a manner as he could under the circumstances, with police trailing him for over an hour,” Graham said, calling the city’s bus operators “civil service heroes.”
Graham said the bus then finally was stopped near Alameda and 6th streets, near the city’s “skid row,” known for its homeless population.
The passenger rescued by the SWAT team was found barricaded in the back of the bus, “shaken but unharmed,” Graham said.
Police are aware of reports of a person hit by a vehicle around where they pursued the bus, though it’s unclear if that incident is connected, he added.
The bus driver now “is in relatively good spirits, although a bit shaken up,” Graham said.
LA County Supervisor and Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board Chair Janice Hahn said the MTA will work with law enforcement and prosecutors to seek justice for the victim who was killed.
“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,” Hahn said in a statement. “ 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.”.
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