More details released on Metro stabbing and shooting incident

HOLLYWOOD, CA – Authorities have released more information about the man accused of stabbing a security guard at a subway station on Tuesday and who was fatally shot by a security guard at the station.

According to the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles Fire Department, officers and paramedics were dispatched to the Vermont/Sunset B Line station around 9:10 a.m.

The incident began on a B Line train when a passenger pressed an emergency alarm button, causing the train to stop before reaching the station, according to Metro.

The man ran off the train and into a private area of ​​the Vermont/Sunset station. An altercation between the man and security guards ensued: The guards used pepper spray on the man, the man stabbed one of the guards in the leg, and the guard “fired a weapon in self-defense,” striking the man, according to a Metro release.

“The intruder did not survive his injuries,” the statement continued.

The guard was transported to a local hospital in stable condition. It is unclear whether the security guard who shot the man was the same one who was stabbed.

On Wednesday, the fatally wounded man was identified by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner as Ryan Ludwick, 31, whose city of residence was not known. Ludwick was found dead on a sidewalk near the train station.

The stabbing and shooting are the latest in a string of violent incidents to hit Metro recently.

On April 22, a woman was stabbed as she exited traffic at the Universal City/Studio City B subway station in what authorities believe was an unprovoked attack.

Later that week, the Metro board declared a public safety emergency following a series of attacks on bus drivers. According to Metro, attacks on bus companies increased from 92 attacks in 2019 to 160 in 2023 and are continuing to increase this year.

City News Service contributed to this report.