One left dead after Los Angeles bus hijacked by gunman

Bus passengers taken hostage in ‘Speed-style’ Los Angeles police chase that left one dead

A gunman hijacked a bus, shooting dead a passenger and leading police on a high-speed chase in downtown Los Angeles before being brought to a halt by armoured vehicle

by · The Mirror

A gunman hijacked a bus, shooting dead a passenger before leading police on a chase in downtown Los Angeles.

The man held the vehicle’s passengers hostage in scenes likened to the movie ‘Speed’. Dozens of officers tailed the bus across the city, often at high speeds, in the early hours of today.

At one point, the coach was driven in the wrong direction on a one-way street, seeing armed police deploy spike strips in a bid to burst its tyres. A witness said: “It looked like the movie ‘Speed’. The 1994 film starring Keanu Reeves centres around a city bus rigged by a vengeful extortionist to explode if its speed drops below 50 miles per hour.

Keanu Reeves starred in bus thriller 'Speed'( Image: MGM/Everett/REX/Shutterstock)

According to onlookers, armed police were communicating with the suspect through a loudspeaker. The driver appeared to have been operating the bus under the direction of the hijacker, who was reportedly connected to an earlier shooting incident.

The bus eventually stopped, with its path blocked by an armoured vehicle. Video from the drama showed a series of small explosions around the bus before officers stormed inside with shields. A bus driver was seen climbing out of a window and running to safety behind the armoured vehicle while officers cleared the vehicle. Los Angeles Police Officer Rosario Cervantes said the chase began at about 12:45am.

According to Los Angeles Fire Department officials, one person was taken to the hospital in critical condition, and two others at the scene were released. The person taken to the hospital was suffering from gunshot wounds and died, Cervantes said.

The hijacker was taken into custody at the end of the pursuit. The incident is the latest in a series of violent incidents that have marred the Los Angeles public transport system. In May, Mayor Karen Bass called for increased security as crime soared.