A young person has been arrested for the alleged near-fatal stabbing of a Los Angeles Metro bus driver after the pair received right into a “verbal argument.”
Officials say {that a} 17-year-old male, who has not been publicly recognized, was taken into custody on Thursday in reference to the brutal assault within the metropolis.
The driver was stabbed a number of occasions at a bus cease on Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Erwin Street within the suburb of Woodland Hills on Wednesday after the pair received embroiled in an altercation exterior the bus.
Authorities say that the verbal argument between the 61-year-old driver and {the teenager} started about “fare evasion” earlier than escalating.
Police say that they each received off the bus which is when the suspect allegedly stabbed the driving force within the chest, neck, and again, after which ran away.
The bus driver, who has not been named, was rushed to Northridge Hospital in crucial situation and stays within the intensive care unit.
“The nature of the injuries that he sustained were definitely beyond life-threatening and certainly in many other instances he would not have survived,” mentioned Los Angeles Police Chief Michael Moore after the assault.
Mayor Karen Bass described the assault as a “heinous act of violence”, including that “the harm done to one of our Metro drivers is tragic”.
After visiting the driving force within the hospital, Mayor Bass mentioned: “I join the entire city family in praying for him tonight, and my heart also goes out to his family.
“For so many Angelenos, our transit operators are a part of their everyday lives – they bring our children to school, they bring us home from work and are part of the very fabric of our city, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
“They do their job of getting us to where we need to go, and we must in turn do our job of keeping them safe.
“Safety on Metro is a top priority, and I will redouble my efforts as Mayor and as a Metro Board member to keep transit riders and workers safe.”
According to footage obtained by the authorities within the wake of the assault, the suspect was described as a white man with blonde curly hair, who was carrying a pink t-shirt and black trousers on the time of the assault, and was carrying a black backpack.
