Hours after MTA’s press conference on public transit violence, an LA Metro driver was shot

LA deputies at the scene of a fatal shooting on a subway bus in Commerce on May 16, 2024. (KTLA)

A suspect is in custody following another deadly incident on a Metro bus, this time in Commerce, authorities confirmed to KTLA.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officers responded to Slauson and Boxford streets just before 5 p.m. for reports of a person suffering from a gunshot wound, authorities said in a news release.

Details are extremely limited and it is unclear how the fatal shooting occurred. However, authorities say the victim was shot while aboard the bus.

The victim was later taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.

No information was given as to where or how long after the incident the suspect was taken into custody.

The shooting occurred just hours after Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board members held a news conference Thursday morning to discuss a series of high-profile crimes on Metro’s bus and train lines and announce plans to increase law enforcement presence throughout the system.

On May 13th alone, there were two separate stabbings on board the subway. In the weeks leading up to these incidents, there was a stabbing on a train that left a woman dead in Studio City and another that injured a bus driver and a passenger in South Los Angeles.

On May 5, a driver of a Dash bus operated by the city of LA was brutally attacked by a homeless woman in an attack that was captured on video.

In March, a transient armed with an airsoft gun hijacked a Metro bus and crashed into the Ritz-Carlton in downtown Los Angeles.

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, who serves as chair of the Metro board, said she has ordered an “immediate increase” in police personnel on Metro buses, trains and stations to address the concerns of drivers and passengers.

MTA board members, Bass and officials from the LA County Board of Supervisors were critical of the presence – or lack thereof – of police personnel on Metro Transit buses and trains during Thursday’s press conference.

Metro contracts its law enforcement services with the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Long Beach Police Department. The value of these contracts is more than $150 million.

“We have a responsibility towards every single passenger and bus driver: they must feel safe on the metro. Our law enforcement contracts are critical to safety, but they do no one any good if officers don’t ride our trains and buses,” Metro Vice Chairwoman and LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn said at the press conference.

The ongoing attacks led to Metro bus drivers taking sick leave and a Metro board member saying she was “scared” and wouldn’t ride the system alone.

The board recently approved adding barriers between drivers and passengers on all Metro buses.

In a statement to KTLA regarding Thursday’s fatal shooting on a bus, Metro said:

“This afternoon’s tragic incident on board a Metro bus in the Trade Area is an example of how violence is increasing in society at large and spilling over into our local communities. Metro is saddened by this incident and extends our deepest condolences to the victim’s family. Metro thanks the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department for the quick arrest of a person of interest. Anyone with information about this incident should call the LASD Transit Services Bureau at 323-563-5000.”