Stabbing on Metro bus in Lynwood is latest violence connected to L.A.'s mass transit system
A person was stabbed Tuesday aboard a Los Angeles Metro bus in Lynwood, the latest incident of bloodshed linked to the county's mass transit system that is struggling to keep commuters safe.
The passenger, identified only as an adult, was stabbed in the leg and taken to a hospital, where they were listed in stable condition, according to a statement form the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Deputies and an emergency medical team responded to the assault just after 11 a.m. at the intersection of Long Beach Boulevard and Norton Avenue in Lynwood, according to the sheriff's department and the L.A. County Fire Department. A person of interest has been detained, sheriff's spokesperson Deputy Miguel Meza said, but he didn't have further details about what led to the stabbing or an arrest.
Read more: Three people stabbed in two separate incidents on Metro system
Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn called Tuesday's stabbing "another grim reason that we need a surge of law enforcement on our transit system."
"People who rely on Metro every day need to know they can take our buses and trains safely," Hahn, vice chair of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board of directors, said in a statement. "I appreciate our Sheriff’s deputies who responded to the scene quickly and have detained a person of interest. Thankfully, I am told that the victim’s injuries are not life threatening. I am praying for their quick recovery, and I am so sorry that they had to endure this.”
This stabbing follows a spate of violent incidents across Metro's bus and rail system, including the fatal stabbing of a 66-year-old grandmother from Nicaragua who was riding the B Line in late April. Just last week, three people were stabbed in two separate, nonfatal incidents, and in mid-April, a bus driver was stabbed while on the job.
Last week, a father from East Los Angeles was shot in the head and killed while riding a bus home from work.
Patrick Chandler, a spokesperson for Metro, said the agency "shares the concerns of our employees and customers about the increased severity of crime we are seeing in our cities and on the Metro system, like the one onboard a Metro bus in the city of Lynwood this afternoon."
Chandler did not immediately respond to questions about growing safety concerns, but said Metro is hoping Tuesday's stabbing victim makes a full recovery and commended the Sheriff's Department for promptly apprehending the suspect.
Despite several recent violent incidents against Metro passengers and staff, Metro officials have said that the rate of crimes per passenger has decreased of late. According to Metro, there were a little more than five crimes reported per million boardings in March, which was about 28% lower than in February and 41% lower than in March 2023.
Metro has also been looking into, and in some cases started implementing, security improvements, including adding more security personnel on buses and creating barriers to protect drivers.
Times staff writers Nathan Solis and Rachel Uranga contributed to this report.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
