The man killed this week when an LA Metro bus was hijacked was identified by police on Friday while the suspect remains behind bars.
Anthony Rivera, a 48-year-old Los Angeles resident, was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds when SWAT officers took the suspected killer, 51-year-old Lamont Campbell, into custody on Wednesday. Campbell allegedly hijacked the bus in South Los Angeles and held the driver at gunpoint as officers followed him, police said, leading to a chase that ended in downtown LA.
Rivera was identified Wednesday by the LAPD’s South Bureau Homicide Unit.
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Authorities have not released details about what led to the fatal shooting, while a suspected motive for the hijacking also remains unclear. Campbell is currently being held at the Twin Towers Correction Facility on $2 million bail, county inmate records show.
On Wednesday, around 12:45 p.m., Campbell allegedly boarded the bus and began arguing with the driver near Figueroa Street and Manchester Avenue in South LA. Police say he held the driver at gunpoint while the driver alerted authorities with a panic button, which sent an illuminated “Call 911” message on the front of the bus.
Officers soon began following the bus and the slow-moving pursuit lasted about an hour as it headed north. The bus eventually slowed and came to a stop near Sixth and Alameda Streets in downtown LA. At the time, in addition to the driver, there were also two hostages on board, police said.
From there, Campbell barricaded himself inside the bus and refused to come out before SWAT officers shot bean bags and used stun grenades, eventually taking him into custody.
Rivera, meanwhile, was found shot multiple times. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital, police said.
At least four other people have been killed on Metro buses and trains this year, according to LA Metro data and police reports.
A disturbing spike in crime Earlier this year, passengers, drivers and subway leaders were on high alert when the transit agency promised changes like more safety and law enforcement officers on buses and trains, protective plastic barriers for bus drivers and something else still in the research phase: weapons detection systems that would screen passengers before boarding.
