LOS ANGELES – A passenger was shot and killed and a person suspected of hijacking a Metro bus, taking the driver hostage and leading police on a slow-pursuit chase through downtown Los Angeles is in custody, police said Wednesday.
According to Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Donald Graham, officers initially went to the area of Manchester Boulevard and Figueroa Street around 12:45 a.m. in response to radio calls of a disturbance and possible assault with a deadly weapon on a bus. Police ultimately found the bus at 117th Street and Figueroa.
“At that point the bus was stopped, and officers from the Southeast Area set up (near) the bus and attempted to make contact with them using their PA systems,” Graham said. “The bus responded by slow-rolling away from the police officers and a pursuit began at that point.
“The pursuit lasted about a hour as officers … stayed behind the bus through a very circuitous route through South Los Angeles into the downtown area,” he said. “Southeast officers deployed multiple spike strips in an attempt to stop the bus, and the spike strips were finally effective on the bus … at Alameda just south of Sixth (Street).”
Graham said SWAT officers had already joined the pursuit, “understanding there was a potential hostage situation that was occurring on the bus.”
Once the bus stopped, officers disabled it to prevent it from moving again, and SWAT officers used “distraction” techniques and boarded the bus, taking the suspect into custody. A male passenger aboard the bus was found with multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to a hospital, where he died, Graham said.
The bus driver and another passenger who had been hiding in the back of the bus were also rescued.
It was unclear if the suspect held the bus driver at gunpoint, and whether the shooting occurred prior to the bus being hijacked. The driver did manage to trigger a silent alarm, alerting police to the emergency situation.
“Metro is grateful for the LAPD’s swift action regarding this morning’s bus hijacking incident and is grateful the operator was unharmed. Metro is providing the operator with the support he needs,” according to Metro spokesman Jose Ubaldo. “This is still an active investigation being led by the LAPD.”
The deadly shooting was the latest high-profile violence to plague to the Metro transit system, which has been working to bolster security and increase passenger safety.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who chairs the Metro Board of Directors, issued a statement Wednesday morning calling the shooting and hijacking “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,” Hahn said.
“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.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who also sits on the Metro board, also decried the violence.
“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. “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.”
The name of the suspect, and the man who died, were not immediately released.