Photo: MARVIN RECINOS/AFP/Getty Images
A 17-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of stabbing a Metro bus driver Wednesday afternoon in Woodland Hills.The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) reported Thursday.
The authorities They did not disclose the identity of the young man arrested due to his status as a minor.
Breaking News: LAPD Chief Moore just announced that the suspect believed to be responsible for last night’s stabbing of an MTA bus driver in Woodland Hills has been arrested and is a 17 year old minor.
Watch the press conference by clicking the link: https://t.co/Tlj93jQ8Uy pic.twitter.com/9qOYdMSiky
— LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) May 25, 2023
The incident occurred at approximately 5:15 p.m. near the intersection of Erwin Street and Topanga Canyon Boulevard.
Related: Bus driver is stabbed in Woodland Hills; authorities are looking for the suspect
Reports say a verbal argument broke out over “fare evasion” involving the 61-year-old driver of the bus and a male passenger.
They both got off the bus and at one point, the teenager stabbed the worker in the chest, neck and back, and later fled the scene.
The victim was rushed to Northridge Hospital in critical condition. and this Thursday he remained hospitalized in an intensive care unit.
“The nature of the injuries he sustained were definitely beyond life-threatening, and in many other cases he would not have survived,” LAPD Chief Michel Moore said at a news conference Thursday.
Moore thanked the first responders and hospital staff for their work in saving the bus driver’s life.
The police chief said that Work was underway overnight to try to locate the shooter, but it was not immediately known where the suspect was arrested..
This Thursday morning, the Metro Board had announced a $25,000 reward for information that would help find and arrest the person responsible for the stabbing.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and board members went to the hospital to visit the driver and his family.
The stabbing of a bus driver is the latest violent incident to hit the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority system.. Last week, a 53-year-old woman was assaulted on the A subway line, and a 25-year-old man died last month from a stabbing, also on the A line.
“Our bus and rail system is the lifeblood of this community. We are doing everything we can to make sure this system is secure,” Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Brian Williams said during Thursday’s press conference.
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