A passenger was killed after a gunman hijacked a metropolis bus in Los Angeles early Wednesday, resulting in a sluggish police chase by means of downtown earlier than the suspect was ultimately arrested, authorities mentioned.
The armed man boarded the Metro bus with the motive force and two passengers aboard shortly earlier than 1 a.m. PT in South Los Angeles, in response to the Los Angeles Police Division. The division described it as a kidnapping state of affairs.
Officers approached the bus because it slowly rolled away, and police have been in pursuit as the motive force drove at gunpoint for the subsequent hour. It doesn’t seem the suspect was ever behind the wheel, police mentioned.
Police deployed spike strips, which punctured one of many tires. After travelling greater than 11 kilometres, the bus ultimately got here to a cease at a downtown intersection, and the suspect surrendered, officers mentioned.
The bus driver was seen on TV information footage climbing out a bus window.
A person was discovered contained in the bus with gunshot wounds, however particulars about what led as much as the taking pictures weren’t instantly out there. The sufferer was taken to a hospital, the place he was pronounced lifeless, ABC 7 reported.
Bus driver receiving assist
The second passenger was not injured.
In a press release, Metro mentioned the bus driver was OK and receiving the assist he wants. Police praised the motive force for conserving calm.
“This operator continued to function the bus in as secure a way as he might below the circumstances, with the police trailing him for an hour earlier than the spike strips lastly took impact,” Deputy Chief Donald Graham informed reporters on the scene.
The killing is the most recent in a collection of violent incidents on the Los Angeles transit system. In Might, Mayor Karen Bass known as for elevated safety on bus and practice routes.