An apparent altercation on a Metro bus in Koreatown left one man dead, and police are searching for a suspect Friday.
Officers responded to an assault with a deadly weapon call at Western Avenue and Olympic Boulevard around 10:45 p.m. on Thursday.
Investigators were told that two men were involved in some type of verbal altercation on the bus when the victim was pepper sprayed by the other man.
The victim, identified only as a 63-year-old man, was pronounced dead at the scene, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson told KTLA.
The cause of death was still under investigation and it was unknown if the victim suffered from any other medical conditions.
The possible suspect, described as a 30-year-old man, fled the bus on foot and is being sought by police Friday. He was last seen wearing black attire and rainbow-colored shoes.
The spokesperson said the incident was not gang-related and it was unclear what led to the altercation.
Residents near the area are concerned after hearing of the fight.
“It’s sad to hear that on a normal bus where people are going home after work, there could be a fight and being pepper-sprayed,” said Luis David Perea, who owns a business near the crime scene. “And you could potentially lose your life.”
Local Metro riders said they felt unsettled after news of a bus-related death.
“It feels very unsafe,” said Rocky Espat, a Metro bus rider. “It feels like it could happen to anybody and at any time.”
Another rider, Zayda Castillo, said she has witnessed fights on buses in the past and it’s always frightening.
“It makes me just jump off as soon as they open the door and it’s scary because you never know if they’re going to pull out a firearm and you’ll actually become a victim,” Castillo said.
Investigators said they’ve obtained video from onboard the bus that captured the deadly altercation. However, they said more context and information are needed to figure out exactly what happened.
“We want to find the individual who was involved in this fight, but he’s not considered a suspect at this time,” said LAPD detective Herman Frettlohr. “We just want to know what caused the fight, what started it and who was the primary aggressor.”
L.A. Metro offered its sympathies to the victim’s family and said they were working closely with LAPD investigators in a statement.
“Safety is our number one priority and over the past year, Metro has seen an overall, month-over-month reduction in serious crimes on our transit system … However, one crime is too many and will not be tolerated,” a portion of the statement read.
Police said any passengers who may have witnessed the incident had already exited the bus by the time officers arrived.
Anyone who has information about the incident is asked to call the West Bureau Homicide department at 213-382-9470. The public can also call the LAPD at 1-877-527-3247.
Anonymous tips can be provided to L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at lacrimestoppers.org.
