A passenger died after an armed man hijacked a transit bus in Los Angeles early Wednesday, sparking a police chase through the city’s downtown core, local authorities said.
The suspect in the incident was taken into custody after an hourlong chase, Los Angeles police said. Two other passengers and the driver were on the bus at the time of the hijacking, police said. One passenger died after being taken to a hospital with multiple gunshot wounds.
Police were called to South Los Angeles shortly before 1 a.m. after reports that a driver had activated a “Call 911” sign on the front of a bus, local media reported. The bus had been stopped, but officers began chasing it when it pulled away, believing someone on board was armed. They used spike strips to stop the bus in downtown Los Angeles.
A SWAT team used stun grenades before boarding the bus and arresting the suspect, police said.
The bus driver and the other passenger on board were “shaken but unharmed,” police said. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority said it was “grateful” the driver was unharmed and said it would provide support.
The driver, who has not been identified, operated the bus “as safely as possible” while police followed the vehicle for an hour, said Donald Graham, deputy chief of the Los Angeles Police Department.
“I think the driver is very good,” Graham said at a news conference, praising the driver’s composure.
Footage circulating online early Wednesday appeared to show police officers and police vehicles surrounding a stopped bus, as well as a person sitting in the front seat of the bus raising his hands.
Detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department’s homicide bureau were investigating and searching the bus for evidence, the department said.
In March, a man was arrested in Los Angeles on suspicion of kidnapping after police said he hijacked a bus. The man, Anai Lindsey, threatened the driver, the only person on board, and said he had a gun. The bus ended up crashing into several vehicles and a hotel, injuring one person.
