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One bus passenger is dead in downtown Los Angeles. Shot and killed by an armed hijacker Wednesday morning. Following “a terrifying pursuit and standoff,” with the driver held hostage, a suspect is in custody. Details are still trickling in.
Metro bus hijacked
Los Angeles Police Department officers “saw a man with a gun boarding the bus near Figueroa and West 119th Street.” They didn’t do much about it until they got a shots fired call at South Figueroa Street and Imperial Highway.
That happened just before 1 a.m., Wednesday, September 25. Cops had no idea how deadly and bizarre the following series of events would become.
The unnamed hijacker pulled out a gun and “demanded that the driver continue driving through downtown.” Besides the driver and the gunman, the bus had two fare-paying passengers. One is now deceased.
Details aren’t clear on how that happened. Police note that “at some point, the gunman shot a passenger.” Multiple times. They aren’t speculating on “what led up to the shooting.”
Initial reports don’t confirm whether the driver “was held at gunpoint during the slow chase, which went on for about an hour.”
LA hasn’t seen a good low speed chase since the days of O.J. Simpson and his white Bronco. SWAT officers picked a choice spot near Skid Row to ambush the bus. They threw out the spike strips and waited.
Bean bags and stun grenades
According to the LAPD, the spikes did the trick and SWAT caught their bus right on schedule. They surrounded and boarded it near Sixth and Alameda streets.
Without much regard for the driver and other occupants, cops came in blasting with “bean bags and stun grenades.” They managed to safely rescue the driver and one passenger. They tried their best on the other one, who’s name hasn’t yet been released.
The grenade-stunned hijacker was hustled off the bus in cuffs. According to LAPD Commander Donald Graham, “the passenger who had been shot was taken to a hospital, where he died.”
The other passenger “hid in the back of the bus during the hijacking.” Besides the shots fired call. Police got an alert direct from the driver. Metro equipped all their vehicles with panic buttons. The driver hit his.
“Metro is grateful for the LAPD’s swift action regarding this morning’s bus hijacking incident and is grateful the operator was unharmed.”
They’re “providing the operator with the support he needs.” That probably means they they gave him a day off with pay. The bus company isn’t allowed to say a whole lot other than “this is still an active investigation being led by the LAPD.“
