Metro Bus Hijacker Faces Murder Charge After Killing Passenger: DA

LOS ANGELES, CA — A man accused of leading police on a chase across Los Angeles in a hijacked Metro bus after fatally shooting a passenger was charged Monday with murder, according to the District Attorney's Office.

Lamont Campbell, 51, has been charged with murder, carjacking, kidnapping during a carjacking, assault with a handgun, attempted murder, robbery, four counts of kidnapping, felony evading and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He's set to be arraigned Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Campbell is accused of boarding a metro bus on Sept. 25 at around 12:30 a.m. at the corner of Figueroa Street and Vernon Avenue in South LA. He pulled out a gun and shot a passenger, Anthony Rivera, multiple times, prosecutors said.

Campbell then threatened the driver with the gun and demanded he drive. He also threatened other passengers with the weapon and robbed a passenger, according to the DA's office.

Police unsuccessfully attempted to stop the bus, leading to a pursuit that lasted for more than an hour. Officers deployed spike strips, which brought the bus to a stop on Alameda Street, south of 6th Street in downtown LA.

“Lamont Campbell’s hijacking of a Metro bus and murder of a passenger just trying to get home from work sent shockwaves through the city,” Supervisor Janice Hahn, the Metro board chair, said in a statement. “I appreciate District Attorney Gascón’s attention to this case and filing these charges quickly. People need to be able to take our public transit system and know that they will get home safely, and I will continue to push for weapons detection technology and other solutions to protect our passengers from people who mean them harm.”

Prosecutors are requesting that Campbell be held on $5.575 million bail.