One passenger was killed after a shooter stole a Los Angeles city bus overnight, leading police on a pursuit for more than an hour before being apprehended.
According to Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Donald Graham, a person was found with gunshot wounds aboard a Metro bus early Wednesday and later died at a local hospital. The bus driver and a passenger were saved after police used tire-puncturing spike strips to halt the bus before a SWAT unit arrived, he added.
LAPD Assistant Chief Blake Chow reported that the suspect, 51-year-old Lamont Campbell, was detained on charges of murder.
It’s unknown whether Campbell has legal representation. CNN has contacted the local Public Defender’s Office.
A law enforcement source informed CNN that the suspect’s motive is still unknown hours after being arrested. Homicide detectives were interviewing the alleged gunman, according to a source.
The incident occurred as the city’s transportation officials employed emergency money to improve safety on metro buses, where they say a disturbing pattern of violence is affecting operators.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass praised the bus driver and police officers for their bravery and prompt response.
“My sympathies are with the family of the person who was sadly killed early this morning. Every Angeleno has the right to live their lives safely, particularly on our public transportation systems, and I will work urgently with Metro Board members, as well as our Chair and Metro CEO, to improve the safety strategies that we implemented earlier this year,” Bass said in a statement Wednesday.
The bus hijacking is one of the most recent examples of ordinary Americans being scared by gun violence in places they once thought were safe, such as schools, supermarkets, and public transportation.
The bus’s panic button helped inform the police
According to Graham, police arrived about 12:45 a.m. to reports of a gunman on the Metro bus, and an emergency panic button on the vehicle also notified officers.
The bus was first reported in an industrial area of densely populated South Los Angeles.
Several people were spotted exiting the bus between the initial 911 calls and when officers discovered it in South Central Los Angeles, at 117th and Figueroa streets, he stated.
The bus then drove off, leading cops through downtown Los Angeles.
The bus driver proceeded to operate the bus “in as safe a manner as he could under the circumstances, with police trailing him for over an hour,” Graham added, hailing the city’s bus drivers as “civil service heroes.”
Graham said the bus finally came to a stop around Alameda and 6th streets, in the city’s “skid row,” which is known for its homeless population.
The SWAT squad freed a passenger who was locked in the back of the bus, “shaken but unharmed,” Graham added.
Police are aware of reports of a person being hit by a vehicle near where they pursued the bus, but it is unclear whether that incident is related, he added.
The bus driver is currently “in relatively good spirits, though a little shaken up,” Graham said.
Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins said she spoke with the driver, who informed her he was simply doing his job. “But this is not his job,” Wiggins remarked, frustrated by safety worries on public transportation.
LA County Supervisor and Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board Chair Janice Hahn stated that the MTA will collaborate with law enforcement and prosecutors to pursue justice for the victim who was killed.
“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,” Hahn stated in a news release. “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.”
At a news conference Wednesday, Hahn described the episode as a “real-life nightmare.”
She stated that more needs to be done to prevent people from bringing guns onto transit systems, and that the MTA is evaluating three alternative weapons detection systems at Union Station, the city’s transportation hub.
“If you can’t get into a Dodger game or a concert with a weapon, you should not be able to board a bus or a train with a weapon,” Hahn pointed out.
In April, the government approved more than $5 million in emergency financing to refit its buses with safety barriers that protect drivers from passengers, citing an increase in violent attacks on bus drivers.
Indeed, the bus involved in Wednesday’s incident featured a safety barrier, which officials credited with saving lives.
“If the barrier was not there, that driver would not have been able to signal that he needed help,” Bass told reporters.
According to the April report, one hijacking occurred and one operator was stabbed just a few weeks apart.
“On the Metro bus system, aggravated assaults on bus operators increased by a factor of 4 between 2019 and 2023, and battery on bus operators was 50 percent higher during the same period,” according to the findings. “This recent trend is extremely alarming and must be addressed immediately.”
The report revealed intentions to install barriers on buses by the end of the year, with a focus on bus lines that have suffered the highest number of operator assaults.
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