LOS ANGELES (KTLA) – One person was fatally shot when an MTA bus in Los Angeles was hijacked with passengers on board and then pursued by police from South Los Angeles to downtown L.A. early Wednesday morning.
Officers began to receive radio calls for a potential assault with a deadly weapon on a bus near South Figueroa Street and Manchester Avenue in the Vermont Knolls neighborhood of South Los Angeles around 12:45 a.m., a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson said during a news conference.
The bus driver activated a panic button — which displayed the words “Emergency” and “Call Police” on the external digital readouts of the bus — after the suspect was said to have pulled out a gun and pointed it at people.
Dispatched officers found the bus stopped with the flashing “CALL 911” sign near West 117th Street and South Figueroa Street, but it began to move when officers got close, prompting a pursuit, the spokesperson said.
The Metro bus is seen following Wednesday morning’s hijacking in Los Angeles. (KTLA)
Officers deployed spike strips, which flattened the tires of the bus. The pursuit came to an end at East 6th Street and South Alameda Street in downtown Los Angeles.
SWAT officers had also joined in the pursuit with the understanding that it was a potential hostage situation, the spokesperson said.
Once the bus came to a stop, flash-bang devices were deployed during a standoff with the suspect.
The spokesperson said the bus driver was rescued along with two other passengers, one of whom barricaded themself on the bus, away from the gunman. Another passenger was fatally shot by the suspect.
“The third passenger on the bus expired from complications from the gunshot wounds,” the spokesperson said.
The suspect, who has not been identified, was taken into custody.
Police did not disclose any details of a possible motive as of Wednesday morning.
