LA Metro searching for solutions after deadly bus hijacking
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- One day after a man hijacked a Metro bus and killed a passenger, the agency's Board of Directors is trying to reassure riders.
The killing is the latest in a series of violent attacks on the transit system's buses and trains.
"No one should ever get on a bus or train and wonder if someone has a knife or firearm," Inglewood Mayor James Butts said at a Metro board meeting Thursday.
"Metro is a microcosm of society and people don't feel safe right now," said Los Angeles City Councilmember and Metro board director Katy Yaroslavsky.
Metro Board Chair and L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn repeated her previous calls for a system to prevent people from carrying weapons onto buses and trains. She emphasized that three weapons-detection systems are being tested at Union Station, and she hopes to expand their use throughout the transit system.
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, who is a Metro director, called for a report back on the latest data of these weapons-detection systems as soon as next month, with the goal of fast tracking the implementation of the technology.
Metro CEO Stepanie Wiggins called safety a top priority and said more security is being placed at strategic locations.
"We're working with LAPD, which is redeploying along those routes and in those communities where there are challenges and criminal activity can float onto our system," Wiggins said.
The bus hijacking and deadly shooting of the passenger happened early Wednesday morning and is again putting a spotlight on the difficulties of safeguarding the transit system's buses and trains.
Police said 51-year-old Lamont Campbell hijacked the Line 81 bus, which was traveling southbound and was carrying the driver and two passengers. After a chase, the bus came to a stop in downtown L.A. and the suspect surrendered.
Police train for those types of takeovers. A bus, however, poses unique challenges because of all the windows.
"You have to approach the bus from the front, meaning, that's the only way to see what's going on inside the bus," security expert Bruce Thomas said. "You have the engine to the rear, you have solid windowpanes to the rear, and then the windows open up as you get toward the driver, so you kind of have an observational point up front."
Unlike airports that have passengers go through a series of checkpoints, Thomas said stopping people with weapons from boarding a bus is challenging.
"That's a whole other issue," Thomas said. "You have magnetometers, searches, those type of things. In this case, it's really not feasible at this point in time."
City News Service contributed to this report.
