LA Metro rider stabbed on bus in Lynwood; 1 detained

Deputies arrested a man Tuesday for allegedly stabbing another passenger on an LA Metro bus traveling through Lynwood, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Investigators received a call at 11:17 a.m. about the crime reported near South Long Beach Boulevard and Norton Avenue, Los Angeles County Fire Department officials said. The victim was taken to a nearby hospital with injuries not believed to be life-threatening, according to LASD. 

Both the suspect and the victim are men, authorities said.

The stabbing is the latest in a string of violent assaults on LA Metro buses and trains and at the transit system's stations, with more than a dozen such crimes reported since the start of this year.

The bus driver told KCAL News he was driving when someone rang the bell and he heard a commotion in the back of the bus. The victim said that someone stabbed him and then the suspect jumped off the bus and ran away. The bus driver pulled over next to Lynwood Coin-Up Laundry, located at 11004 Long Beach Blvd. 

At the scene, deputies said they were waiting to download security video footage from the bus to confirm the identity of the suspect.

Aerial footage of the scene around noon shows officers standing outside a Metro bus and a patrol vehicle parked alongside it.  

Last week, LA Mayor and Metro Chair Karen Bass announced the transit system's plans for new safety changes in response to a "spike" in particularly violent crimes. This includes staffing more security guards and law enforcement officers to ride and actively patrol buses and trains in full uniform. 

Metro Vice Chair Janice Hahn called the stabbing reported Tuesday "horrific" and said it was "yet another grim reason that we need a surge of law enforcement on our transit system."