Passenger killed in Metro bus hijacking in Los Angeles is identified by police

The man killed when an LA Metro bus was hijacked this week was identified by police Friday as the suspect remains behind bars.

Anthony Rivera, a 48-year-old resident of Los Angeles, was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds when SWAT officers took the suspected killer, 51-year-old Lamont Campbell, into custody Wednesday. Campbell allegedly hijacked the bus in South Los Angeles and held the driver at gunpoint as officers followed, police said, leading to a pursuit that ended in downtown LA.

Rivera was identified by LAPD's South Bureau Homicide Division on Wednesday.

Authorities have not released details about what led up to the fatal shooting while a suspected motive in the hijacking also remains unclear. Campbell is currently being held at Twin Towers Correction Facility on $2 million bail, county inmate records show. 

On Wednesday, around 12:45 a.m., Campbell allegedly boarded the bus and began arguing with the driver near Figueroa Street and Manchester Avenue in South LA. According to police, he held the driver at gunpoint while the driver alerted authorities with a panic button, which sent a lit-up "Call 911" message on the front of the bus.

Officers soon started following the bus and the slow-moving pursuit lasted about an hour as it traveled north, the bus eventually slowing down and coming to a stop near Sixth and Alameda streets in downtown LA. At the time, there were two reported hostages on board along with the driver, police said.

From there, Campbell allegedly barricaded himself inside the bus and refused to come out before SWAT officers shot bean bags and used stun grenades, eventually taking him into custody. 

Rivera, meanwhile, had been found shot multiple times. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital, police said.

At least four other people have been killed on Metro buses and trains this year, according to LA Metro data and police reports. 

A troubling spike in crime earlier this year put passengers, drivers and Metro leaders on high alert as the transit agency promised changes such as more security and law enforcement officers on buses and trains, protective plastic barriers for bus drivers and something else still in the research phase — weapons-detection systems that riders would be screened with before boarding.