A passenger was shot and killed on a hijacked Metro bus in Los Angeles late Wednesday night after a suspect pointed a gun at the driver and a police chase ensued.
Officers began receiving radio calls around 12:45 a.m. about a possible attack with a deadly weapon on a bus near South Los Angeles. KTLA-TV reported.He quoted Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief Donald Graham as saying:
A suspect was taken into custody, but police said the motive for the shooting is unknown.
Authorities learned a person on the bus pulled a gun and the bus driver pressed a panic button that displayed the message “Call 911” on the exterior of the bus, the sheriff's office said.
Officers found the bus parked near West 117th Street and South Figueroa Avenue, but when police approached the bus, it started moving and a pursuit ensued, KTLA reported.
Police told the sheriff's office that the suspect had pointed a gun at the bus driver.
“Obviously he was intimidated and under threat of violence, and it's the bus operator's responsibility that he remained calm,” Graham later told KTLA about the bus driver.
Officers deployed spike strips and punctured the bus's tires, the police department said, adding that the pursuit ended about an hour later at East 6th Street and South Alameda Boulevard in downtown Los Angeles.
KTLA reported that SWAT officers fired flash bang grenades and the bus driver was able to escape through a window, and police said they also rescued one passenger who was not seriously injured.
However, another victim was found inside the bus with multiple gunshot wounds, police said, adding that Graham said the unidentified victim was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
According to KTLA, investigators believe the hijacker shot and killed the victim before a police chase began.
A suspect was taken into custody, but police said the motive for the shooting is unknown.
Janice Hahn, a Los Angeles County Supervisor and chair of the Los Angeles Metro Board of Governors, called the incident a “nightmare” but praised the bus driver's actions, KTLA reported.
Hahn called for more measures to be taken to protect the subway system, saying the station “needs a way to prevent people from carrying weapons on our subway buses and trains. The sooner we find a solution to prevent tragedies like these, the better.”
You can watch the video report here About that incident.
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