The Los Angeles Police Department released the identity Friday of the passenger who was fatally shot aboard a hijacked Metro bus earlier this week in an incident that has intensified concerns about safety across the transit system.
The hijacking occurred about 12:45 a.m. Wednesday near Manchester Avenue and Figueroa Street, according to the LAPD.
The bus was pursued by authorities from South Los Angeles to downtown Los Angeles, where SWAT officers arrested the suspect. Paramedics took the wounded passenger from the bus to a hospital, where he died.
On Friday, the LAPD identified the wounded man as Anthony Rivera, 48, of Los Angeles.
The suspect, 51-year-old Lamont Campbell of Los Angeles, was booked on suspicion of murder, and he remains in custody without bail, according to the LAPD and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The case will be presented to the District Attorney’s Office for filing consideration on Monday, according to the LAPD.
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On Wednesday, LAPD Deputy Chief Donald Graham told reporters that officers initially went to the area of Manchester Avenue and Figueroa Street in response to radio calls of a disturbance and possible assault with a deadly weapon on a bus. Police ultimately found the bus at 117th Street and Figueroa.
“At that point the bus was stopped, and officers from the Southeast Area set up (near) the bus and attempted to make contact with them using their PA systems,” Graham said. “The bus responded by slow-rolling away from the police officers, and a pursuit began at that point.
“The pursuit lasted about a hour as officers … stayed behind the bus through a very circuitous route through South Los Angeles into the downtown area,” he said. “Southeast officers deployed multiple spike strips in an attempt to stop the bus, and the spike strips were finally effective on the bus … at Alameda just south of Sixth (Street).”
Graham said SWAT officers had already joined the pursuit, “understanding there was a potential hostage situation that was occurring on the bus.”
Once the bus stopped, officers disabled it to prevent it from moving again, and SWAT officers used “distraction” techniques and boarded the bus, taking the suspect into custody.
The bus driver and another passenger who had been hiding in the back of the bus were rescued.
It was unclear if the shooting occurred prior to the bus being hijacked or during the ensuing pursuit. The driver did manage to trigger a silent alarm, alerting police to the emergency situation.
“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 in a statement to City News Service following the hijacking.
The deadly shooting was the latest incident of high-profile violence to plague the Metro transit system, which has been working to bolster security and increase passenger safety.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who chairs the Metro Board of Directors, issued a statement Wednesday morning calling the shooting and hijacking “a nightmare.”
At a Wednesday afternoon news conference, Hahn praised the bus driver, calling his actions “heroic.” She noted that the bus was luckily equipped with a barrier that separated and protected the driver from the suspect. Metro previously ordered hundreds of such barriers to bolster protection of drivers in the wake of a series of attacks. The transit agency is expected to have barriers installed on all of its buses by the end of the year.
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On Thursday, the agency’s Board of Directors denounced the violence while trying to reassure riders they are doing everything in their power to enhance safety across the transit system.
Hahn repeated her previous calls for a system to prevent people from carrying weapons onto buses and trains. She emphasized that three weapons-detection systems are being tested at Union Station, and she hopes to expand their use throughout the transit system.
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, who is a Metro director, called for a report back on the latest data of these weapons-detection systems as soon as next month, with the goal of fast tracking the implementation of the technology.