Suspect in fatal Los Angeles bus hijacking charged with murder, other counts, officials say

(CNN) — A man suspected of fatally shooting a bus passenger and hijacking the vehicle in Los Angeles before leading police on a pursuit for more than an hour has been charged with multiple counts, including murder and kidnapping, officials said.

A person was found on the Metro bus early September 25 with gunshot wounds, then died at a local hospital, Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Donald Graham said. The bus driver and a passenger were rescued from the bus after police eventually stopped it with tire-puncturing spike strips before a SWAT team moved in for the rescue, he said.

The suspect, identified as 51-year-old Lamont Campbell, was arrested the day of the incident, LAPD Assistant Chief Blake Chow said. He was charged with 12 felony counts, including murder, attempted murder, carjacking, kidnapping, assault, robbery and evading, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced on September 30. Campbell faces more than 90 years to life in prison if convicted as charged, Gascón said. He is set to be arraigned on October 1, according to the DA’s Office.

The charges stem from the six victims who were on the bus when it was carjacked: The driver, the gunshot victim, identified as 48-year-old Anthony Rivera, a woman who was robbed and three other passengers, Gascón said.

It is unclear if Campbell has legal representation. CNN has reached out to the local public defender’s office.

Days after being taken into custody, the suspect’s motive remains unclear, officials said.

The incident comes as transportation officials in the city use emergency funds to enhance safety on metro buses, where they say a troubling pattern of violence is plaguing bus operators.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass thanked the bus operator and police officers for their bravery and quick response.

“My thoughts are with the loved ones of the individual who was tragically killed early this morning. Every Angeleno has the right to go about their lives safely — especially on our public transportation systems and I will be urgently working with the members of the Metro Board as well as our Chair and Metro CEO to enhance the safety strategies that we implemented earlier this year,” Bass said in a statement.

The bus hijacking is one of the latest examples of ordinary Americans being terrorized by gun violence in places they once believed were safe, from schools to supermarkets to public transit.

Bus’ panic button helped alert police

Police responded around 12:45 a.m. to reports of a gunman on the Metro bus, Graham said, adding an emergency panic button in the bus also alerted police.

The bus was initially reported in an industrial section of densely populated South Los Angeles.

Between initial 911 reports and when police found the bus in South Central LA, stopped around 117th and Figueroa streets, several people were seen exiting it, he said.

The bus then drove away, leading police through downtown Los Angeles.

The bus driver continued to operate the bus “in as safe a manner as he could under the circumstances, with police trailing him for over an hour,” Graham said, calling the city’s bus operators “civil service heroes.”

Graham said the bus finally was stopped near Alameda and 6th streets, near the city’s “skid row,” known for its homeless population.

The passenger rescued by the SWAT team was found barricaded in the back of the bus, “shaken but unharmed,” Graham said.

Police are aware of reports of a person hit by a vehicle around where they pursued the bus, though it’s unclear if that incident is connected, he added.

The bus driver now “is in relatively good spirits, although a bit shaken up,” Graham said.

Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins said she spoke to the driver, who told her he was just doing his job. “But this is not his job,” Wiggins said, expressing frustration over safety concerns on public transit.

LA County Supervisor and Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board Chair Janice Hahn said the MTA will work with law enforcement and prosecutors to seek justice for the victim who was killed.

“I am grateful to our Metro bus driver who showed incredible composure in activating a silent alarm to alert law enforcement, and to the LAPD who responded to a difficult and dangerous situation,” Hahn said in a statement. “ We need ways to prevent people from bringing weapons onto our Metro buses and trains, and the sooner we can find solutions to prevent tragedies like this, the better.”

At a news conference the day of the incident, Hahn called the incident a “real-life nightmare.”

She said more needs to be done to prevent people from taking weapons onto transit systems, adding MTA is testing three different weapons detection systems at the city’s transit hub, Union Station.

“If you can’t get into a Dodger game or a concert with a weapon, you should not be able to board a bus or a train with a weapon,” Hahn said.

In April, the agency approved over $5 million in emergency funding to retrofit its buses with safety barriers shielding drivers from passengers, citing an escalation in violent assaults on bus drivers.

In fact, the bus involved in the incident had a safety barrier, which officials touted as being instrumental during the ordeal.

“If the barrier was not there, that driver would not have been able to signal that he needed help,” Bass said.

April’s report cites one hijacking and one operator being stabbed just a few weeks apart.

“On the Metro bus system, aggravated assaults on bus operators increased by a factor of 4 between 2019 and 2023, and battery on bus operators was 50 percent higher during the same period,” the report said. “This recent trend is extremely alarming and must be addressed immediately.”

The report outlined plans to get the barriers on buses by the end of the year, prioritizing bus lines that experienced the largest share of operator assaults.

This story has been updated with additional information.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

CNN’s Kevin Flower and Cheri Mossburg contributed to this report.