1 dead and suspect in custody after gunman hijacks city bus, Los Angeles police say
By Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN
(CNN) – One person is dead after a gunman hijacked a Los Angeles city bus overnight, leading police in pursuit around the city for more than an hour before the suspect was taken into custody.
A person was found on the Metro bus early Wednesday with gunshot wounds, then died at a local hospital, Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Donald Graham said. The bus driver and a passenger were rescued from the bus after police eventually stopped it with spike strips before a SWAT team moved in for the rescue, he said.
It’s one of the latest examples of ordinary Americans being terrorized by gun violence in places they once believed were safe, from schools to supermarkets to public transit.
Los Angeles police did not immediately have information about the suspect’s motive in Wednesday’s hijacking, and the investigation continues. The suspect was taken into custody without incident, Graham said.
Bus’ panic button helped alert police
Police responded around 12:45 a.m. to reports of a gunman on the Metro bus, Graham said, adding an emergency panic button in the bus also alerted police.
Between initial 911 reports and when police found the bus stopped around 117th and Figueroa streets, several people were seen exiting it, he said.
The bus then drove away, leading police through downtown Los Angeles.
The bus driver continued to operate the bus “in as safe a manner as he could under the circumstances, with police trailing him for over an hour,” Graham said, calling the city’s bus operators “civil service heroes.”
The bus then finally was stopped near Alameda and 6th streets, he said.
The passenger rescued by the SWAT team was found barricaded in the back of the bus, “shaken but unharmed,” Graham said.
Police are aware of reports of a person hit by a vehicle around where they pursued the bus, though it’s unclear if that incident is connected, he added.
The bus driver now “is in relatively good spirits, although a bit shaken up,” Graham said.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is supporting the operator: “Metro is grateful for the LAPD’s swift action regarding this morning’s bus hijacking incident and is grateful the operator was unharmed,” the agency said in a statement.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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CNN’s Kevin Flower contributed to this report.
