A suspect has fatally shot a passenger on a Los Angeles MTA bus early Wednesday before hijacking the vehicle and then leading police on a wild chase for over an hour before being apprehended by a SWAT team, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) told Fox News Digital.
The dramatic incident unfolded around 12:45 a.m. when police received a 911 call about a shooting and subsequent bus wreck at Figaro Street and Manchester Avenue.
says the police the suspect shot at least one person before holding the driver at gunpoint and forcing him to drive north. During the initial stages of the hijacking, other passengers were seen exiting the bus, police said.
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A bus hijacking and ‘Speed-style’ chase took place in Los Angeles early Wednesday when a suspect shot a passenger and then led police on an hours-long chase. (KTTV)
The LAPD’s SWAT team eventually stopped the bus at 2:05 a.m. near South Alameda Street and 6th Street, about six miles northeast of where the first hijacking took place.
Police deployed spike strips to slow the speed and it eventually stopped before the suspect barricaded himself in the vehicle.
Online images and a live stream from local news reporters show an MTA the bus pulled over to the side of the road with an armored police vehicle in front and an armed SWAT team at the scene.
A bus was hijacked in Los Angeles early Wednesday, September 25, 2024. (KTTV)
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The suspect was arrested and the injured victim was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition but later succumbed to his injuries, police said. Police say the incident is now being treated as one murder investigation.
The Los Angeles Fire Department says two other people on the bus refused treatment. A motive for the shooting is not known.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
A map of where the bus creation in Los Angeles, California ended. (Fox News)