LOS ANGELES – A passenger was killed after a gunman hijacked a city bus in Los Angeles early Wednesday, leading to a slow police chase through downtown before the suspect was eventually arrested, authorities said.
The armed man boarded the Metro bus with the driver and two passengers aboard shortly before 1 a.m. in South Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
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Officers approached the bus as it slowly rolled away. A cavalcade of police vehicles followed it as the driver drove at gunpoint for the next hour. A flashing sign on the front of the bus read: “Emergency. 911 Call Police.”
Police deployed spike strips, which punctured one of the tires. After traveling more than 7 miles (11 kilometers), the bus eventually came to a stop at a downtown intersection near the city's Arts District, and the suspect surrendered, officials said.
TV news footage showed a series of flash bang explosions around the bus stopped in the neighborhood of lofts and warehouses, then police storming aboard with shields. The bus driver climbed out of window and ran to safety behind an armored vehicle while officers moved in.
Interim Police Chief Dominic Choi said the flash bangs were used as a distraction for the SWAT team to perform their hostage rescue operation.
A man was found inside the bus with gunshot wounds, but details about what led up to the shooting were not immediately available. The victim was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, officials said.
The driver and the second passenger were treated by paramedics at the scene and released. In a statement, Metro said the bus driver was OK and receiving the support he needs.
Police chief Choi identified the suspect as a 51-year-old resident of Los Angeles. He could face a murder charge, Choi said at an afternoon news conference.
The chief said the investigation was still active and didn't release any information about a possible motive.
Police praised the driver for keeping calm.
“This operator continued to operate the bus in as safe a manner as he could under the circumstances, with the police trailing him for an hour before the spike strips finally took effect,” Deputy Chief Donald Graham told reporters.
Reggie Range said he had left his house for a late night snack when he saw the bus blow through the intersection of 6th and Hill streets followed by police vehicles. He decided to follow the bus on a scooter to capture footage of it.
“He was looking so calm like he was doing a normal route,” Range said of the driver, who he could see through the window while riding a scooter alongside the bus.
The killing is the latest in a series of attacks, including stabbings and shootings on buses and trains as Los Angeles seeks to expand the transit system ahead of hosting the Olympics in 2028.
“I'm angry and frustrated as I stand here today because ... we've been working diligently to address safety and security improvements on our system to make things safer for our employees and our riders,” said Metro CEO Stephanie Higgins.
In May, Mayor Karen Bass called for increased security on transit routes. On Wednesday, Bass said Metro hoped to install fully enclosed barriers to protect drivers on all buses by the end of the year. This would make Metro the first transit agency in the country to do so, according to Higgins.
The agency is also instituting a weapons detection pilot program to prevent passengers from bringing weapons onto buses and trains, she said.
“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," the mayor said in a statement.
In March, a man who indicated he had a gun hijacked a Metro bus in downtown LA and then grabbed the wheel, causing the bus to collide with several vehicles and crash into a hotel.
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Associated Press journalist Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles contributed to this report.