A slow-motion early-morning pursuit of a hijacked Metro bus through downtown Los Angeles ended with a passenger fatally shot and the suspect arrested.
The pursuit began around 12:50 a.m. Wednesday when police responded to a shots fired call at South Figueroa Street and Imperial Highway.
According to reports from the scene, Los Angeles Police Department officers witnessed a man with a gun boarding the bus near Figueroa and West 119th Street, who demanded that the driver continue driving through downtown.
The driver pushed a panic button inside the bus, alerting police to his predicament.
Four people were on the bus at the time: two passengers, the driver, and the suspect, according to media reports. At some point, the suspect reportedly shot one of the two passengers.
At around 2:40 in the morning, the bus was stopped after running over spike strips, said the Los Angeles Police Department. During the standoff, officers surrounded the bus and shot bean bags and stun grenades at the suspect as they tried to rescue the driver and the injured passenger.
The pursuit ended near Sixth St. and Alameda St. in downtown Los Angeles, where the driver was safely rescued and the suspect was taken into custody.
An LAPD spokesperson told reporters that the passenger who had been shot was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Information on his identity was not immediately available. Another passenger who hid in the back of the bus during the hijacking was reportedly rescued by police.
“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,” Metro spokesman Jose Ubaldo said in a statement to City News Service.
“This is still an active investigation being led by the LAPD.”
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who chairs the Metro Board of Directors, released the following statement on Wednesday morning:
“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.”
City News Service contributed to this report.
