Shooting victim found along Metro Blue Line tracks in Compton

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Saturday, January 3, 2015
Shooting victim found along Blue Line tracks in Compton
A man with multiple gunshot wounds was found along the Metro Blue Line tracks in Compton Friday morning.

COMPTON, Calif. (KABC) -- A man with multiple gunshot wounds died after being found along the Metro Blue Line tracks in Compton Friday morning. The suspect remains at large.

Authorities were called about a man with a gun on a train at about 8:40 a.m. Deputies were sent to multiple stations as it was unknown which train the suspect was on.

The victim was found along the tracks with several gunshot wounds at the Artesia Station in Compton. He was taken to a nearby trauma center, where he died. It was unclear whether the victim was shot inside or outside the train. No other injuries were reported.

A woman by the name of Tiffany who said she is the victim's sister spoke to Eyewitness News. She wore a hoodie with three holes that she said were from the bullets that killed her brother.

"Right there on the tracks is where my brother took his last breath," she said, in tears.

Tiffany says she was getting off the train when she saw two men fighting on the platform. One was her brother. She says a shot was fired, and the shooter took off running down the tracks, her brother in pursuit.

"I tried to stop him, my brother, and he ran after him. He pulled out a gun again and shot him point blank," she said.

"The man who was shot at, the victim in this case, actually chased the assailant down the tracks and the man with the gun turned and fired additional rounds at our victim," said LASD Lt. Steve Jauch.

The suspect ran north along the tracks and escaped. A suspect description was not immediately available. Investigators are turning to surveillance cameras to learn more about the suspect.

"I understand there is video footage on the trains themselves, so we are going to see what we can do to find out if these men were both on the train at the same time, what led up to this, do they know each other or not," said Jauch.

There were two homicides on the Blue Line in 2014, Littman said, and none in 2013. There are approximately 500 million Metro riders every year.

The Blue Line was temporarily suspended at the Artesia Station. Bus shuttles were used instead.