After a scary pursuit and standoff in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday morning, a passenger was shot and died, and an armed man suspected of hijacking a Metro bus and holding its driver hostage was taken into custody.
The tragic sequence of events started just before one in the morning when police were called to South Figueroa Street and Imperial Highway for a report of gunfire. Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department observed a man brandishing a gun get on the bus close to Figueroa and West 119th Street.
There were four persons aboard the bus: the gunman, the driver, and two passengers. The armed man demanded that the driver go through downtown. Whether the driver was detained at gunpoint throughout the approximately hour-long slow pursuit was not immediately apparent.
A passenger on the bus was shot by the gunman at one point. According to the authorities, the victim had multiple gunshot wounds. Initially, it was unclear what preceded the shooting.
The bus momentarily stopped when police placed spike strips, prompting SWAT officers to be dispatched to a location close to Skid Row, according to the LAPD. Officers encircled the bus during the standoff and attempted to rescue the driver and the injured passenger by firing stun grenades and bean bags at the gunman.
The LAPD claimed that the chase concluded close to Sixth and Alameda streets. The gunman was apprehended after the driver was saved.
According to County Supervisor Janice Hahn, the bus has a safety barrier installed to keep a hijacker from getting close to the driver and seizing control of the vehicle. According to her, the driver has worked for the company for over ten years.
“The driver showed courage and quick thinking in the middle of the night,” Hahn said.
Reporters were informed by LAPD Cmdr. Donald Graham that the shot passenger was transferred to a hospital, where he later passed away. It took some time for the victim’s identity to become public.
Graham reported that authorities had found and saved a second passenger hidden in the bus’s rear throughout the hijacking. To notify the authorities, the driver pressed a panic button on the bus.
Lamont Campbell, 51, was taken into custody about the fatal gunshot and hijacking on suspicion of murder. His bond was set at $2 million. An explanation for the motive was not immediately clear.
“Metro is grateful for the LAPD’s swift action regarding this morning’s bus hijacking incident and is grateful the operator was unharmed. Metro is providing the operator with the support he needs,” Metro spokesman Jose Ubaldo said. “This is still an active investigation being led by the LAPD.”
About six months have passed since an armed man in downtown Los Angeles took control of another Metro bus, which resulted in another deadly hijacking. After striking many automobiles, the bus crashed into the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Two people were hurt in the collision: the woman in the automobile and the bus driver.
Later on, the authorities discovered the man was carrying a BB pistol.
During a press conference in the afternoon, Hahn and Mayor Karen Bass stated that Metro is testing a weapons-detecting technology as part of a pilot program. The purpose of the system is to bar anyone carrying a weapon from boarding a bus.
