A terrifyingly real scene straight out of the movie “Speed” played out in downtown Los Angeles early Wednesday morning when a deranged hijacker took over a city bus and forced the driver at gunpoint to drive him through the streets for more than an hour.
One passenger was killed, and another passenger and the driver were rescued when the LAPD's SWAT team stormed the bus and took the gunman into custody.
The Los Angeles Police Department told reporters that the chase began about 1 a.m. when officers received information that the exterior display on a Metro Transit Authority bus read “Call Police 911” — a message activated by a panic button on the bus.
When the police saw the bus stopped on the road, the hijacker pointed a gun in the driver's face and ordered him to press the gas.
The hour-long chase eventually ended when police slashed the bus's tires with spike strips. KTLA 5 reportsThe hijacker barricaded himself inside the bus, but a SWAT team bombarded the bus with flash bangs, captured the suspect, and rescued the driver and a passenger.
Police found another passenger on the plane suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. The victim was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, the LAPD said.
The motive for the bus robbery is not yet clear, but witnesses said there was an argument between the driver and the suspect before he pulled out a gun.
According to KTLA 5, several passengers were able to escape before the chase began.
