A man suspected of killing a passenger when he allegedly hijacked a bus in Los Angeles, is expected to appear in court soon as LA Metro leaders try to find possible solutions to safety concerns after other deadly attacks this year.
Since January, five people have been killed as a result of attacks on Metro buses and trains, including the latest victim, who has not yet been identified, according to law enforcement reports and what the latest available data from Metro appears to show. LA Metro has only released crime statistics that are current through July.
Four murders were reported between January and June, killings that were also confirmed by police stations.
Then, early Wednesday, police said a passenger on the Metro bus allegedly hijacked by Lamont Campbell was found with multiple gunshot wounds when Campbell was arrested by SWAT officers. The victim later died in a hospital.
Campbell, 51, was booked into Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown LA and is scheduled to appear in court Monday, county inmate records show. He is being held on $2 million bail.
Authorities have not released details about what happened leading up to the fatal shooting as the investigation continues.
Because Metro has not released data for the months of August and September, no information is currently available on any homicides reported during that period.
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Murders in LA Metro this year
Earlier this year, passengers, drivers and subway leaders all acknowledged there was a safety problem, following what Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said described as a “spike in violent crime.” called “absolutely unacceptable”.
“Given what happened on the trains and buses, we didn’t want to wait for a meeting next week,” Bass said on May 16, the month that saw the most crimes against people this year, including reports of assault. battery and murder, according to the Metro reports with detailed statistics. “We wanted to take immediate action.”
At the time, the agency said more law enforcement and security officers would patrol buses and trains. Just hours later, a man was shot and killed on a bus in Handel.
There were between January and June four murders reported aboard the LA Metro transit system, according to agency data. In April, after that 67-year-old Mirna Arauz was stabbed to death As she took the train home from work, her family spoke out and demanded justice. They organized a fundraiser to send money back to her native Nicaragua so they could pay for a proper funeral.
“While we appreciate the first responders who tried to save her life, we hope that Mirna’s death does not go unnoticed and results in real change in public safety efforts in the area,” reads a message on the fundraising page written by her cousin. . “It is a tragedy for Los Angeles’ immigrant community and for everyone who relies on the subway to get home safely.”
GoFundMe
The four homicides reported between January and June of this year are more than the number of homicides Metro reported over the same six-month period in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. The pandemic naturally led to a drop in ridership in 2020, which only started later. But even last year, two murders were reported between January and June, compared to four this year.
From January through June, one homicide was reported in 2022, two in 2021 and none in 2020, according to Metro data.
Looking at the murders reported over the entire year, one was reported in 2019, three in 2020, five in 2021, six in 2022 and six in 2023. While the last two years saw more murders than the five that the Metro system has seen This year, 2024 is on track to see more murders than in recent years, if these tragic crimes continue at the same rate.
Earlier this year, after several attacks on drivers, they went on strike A transit workers union criticized LA Metro and demanded changes after another alleged hijacking led to a bus crashing into a downtown LA hotel. At the same time, passengers express their own concerns.
“One driver dies. Then they will probably take action,” rider Antonio Teodores said on Thursday. “But we don’t want that. So we have to make these buses safer, for us and also for the drivers.”
Meanwhile, Metro leaders have pledged to eventually implement solutions.
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Metro leaders meet and discuss possible solutions
On Thursday, the LA Metro Board met and discussed issues such as technology that would detect weapons on riders. But the board did not approve such new measures. Three types of that detection technology remain under investigation, while Metro leaders have pledged to install more plastic barriers to protect bus drivers, which some said kept the driver safe during Wednesday’s alleged hijacking.
At the meeting, Metro officials applauded the driver, who was described by local politicians and law enforcement as calm and courageous as he reached for a panic button and maintained his composure as Campbell allegedly held him at gunpoint.
LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn, chair of the Metro Board, said gun detection systems could be at least one possible solution.
“We cannot allow people to enter our system with guns, knives and pipes,” Hahn said as she entered Thursday’s meeting. “You can’t go into a Dodger game with a gun, obviously you can’t go to the airport without going through a metal detector and you can’t even go to concerts these days without going through a metal detector.”
Bass, another board member who served as chairman, called for a report next month on the latest data on such weapons detection systems, in hopes of potentially accelerating the use of such technology in transit.
Still, some Metro leaders have said the problem with violent crime on transit buses and trains is part of a larger problem, one that plays out in the broader Los Angeles area and isn’t just something Metro is grappling with .
“What’s happening on our buses is a reflection of what we’re dealing with in our communities,” LA Metro Stephanie Wiggins said Wednesday.
