Last week, Mayor Karen Bass ordered a “surge” of police on Metro in response to a series of violent incidents on buses and trains.
Overall crime on Metro has dropped steeply year-over-year, with the agency reporting a 34.5% drop in crimes against persons in March 2024 compared to March 2023, although statistics for April and May were not available at the time of this publication.
Nevertheless, the attention given to the 14 assaults reported on the transit system this year has heightened scrutiny on Metro.
Here’s a timeline of what’s happened so far in 2024:
Jan. 4: An LAPD officer was injured in an attack at a North Hollywood Metro train station.
Police say the suspect was ordered off the train during an “end-of-the-line check,” but he refused to leave the train and began fighting with officers.
One officer reportedly suffered a broken leg, and the suspect was arrested.
Feb. 22: A man died after being pepper-sprayed by another passenger aboard a Metro bus in Koreatown.
The two men got into an argument on the bus, and one of them pulled out pepper spray. The victim, a man in his 60s, died at the scene.
“They attempted CPR for about 25, 29 minutes and he didn't respond to it and they determined his death on the bus,” LAPD homicide detective Herman Frettlohr told KNX News’ Jon Baird.
March 20: A man hijacked a Metro bus, crashing it into the Ritz Carlton Hotel in DTLA.
The man allegedly pulled a replica gun on the driver and grabbed the wheel, causing the bus to crash into two parked cars and the side of the hotel.
The bus driver and a passenger in one of the struck cars were injured.
April 2: A man was attacked while exiting the Metro A Line Florence Station.
The victim was hospitalized with serious injuries, and the station was closed for more than four hours while an investigation was conducted.
April 13: An elderly man was stabbed on a Metro bus in Silver Lake.
The victim was hospitalized in stable condition, and the suspect was arrested.
April 13: A Metro bus driver was stabbed by a passenger in Willowbrook.
The suspect allegedly started yelling at the driver, punched him in the face, and then stabbed him, according to the sheriff’s department.
The driver was treated at the hospital and then released. The suspect was arrested and has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder.
April 17: A bus driver was attacked in Santa Monica.
A man reportedly kicked in the bus’ glass door, then attacked the driver and fled.
April 22: A 67-year-old woman was fatally stabbed while exiting a train at the Universal City/Studio City metro station.
The early-morning attack was apparently unprovoked. The suspect fled but was arrested later that morning and charged with murder.
April 24: The LAPD increased its presence at the Universal City station after the fatal stabbing.
LAPD Detective Meghan Aguilar told KNX News’ Margaret Carrero that travelers should expect to see more officers “on trains, on platforms, and in the area.”
April 26: An argument on a Metro bus in South L.A. led to one person being stabbed several times with a knife. The victim was hospitalized in stable condition.
April 29: The Metro Board expedited the acquisition of protective glass barriers for bus drivers.
The board approved an emergency procurement of barriers for 2,000 buses due to the "sudden, unexpected increased severity of assaults on operators."
According to Metro, assaults on bus operators increased from 92 attacks in 2019 to 160 in 2023.
May 3: Metro bus drivers staged a “sick out” to protest recent violence against drivers.
360 drivers called out sick, according to Metro’s director of operations. That’s about 10% of the workforce.
May 10: The L.A. City Council ordered a report on Metro’s crime statistics.
The council instructed the LAPD and Metro officials to report back on crimes that occurred on the transit system from 2017 to 2024, including a demographic breakdown of victims.
"This is borne out of, for me, just an immense amount of frustration about the safety concerns that continue to go unresolved and addressed," Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez said prior to the vote.
May 13: A boy was stabbed aboard a Metro bus in Glendale.
A group of boys reportedly tried to steal the victim’s backpack when they stabbed him. The boy was hospitalized in stable condition.
Two of the suspects were caught by police.
May 13: A woman was stabbed at a Metro station in South L.A.
She was taken to the hospital. The suspect, described as a man wearing all black, fled on a train towards Hawthorne.
May 14: A man was robbed and assaulted on a Metro bus in Encino.
Metro officials said the man "was robbed of a cell phone and was hit in the chest by another man while on board the bus."
The suspect was arrested, and the victim didn’t require medical assistance.
May 15: County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said we’ve taken the “wrong approach” on Metro’s safety issues.
Barger told KNX News she wants to “undo what was done” with Metro’s unarmed ambassador program and bring in more cops instead.
“I am very much focused on bringing law enforcement back to the table,” she said.
May 16: A man allegedly shot and killed a fellow passenger on a bus in Commerce.
Prosecutors said that when the bus came to a stop, the suspect shot the victim in the head and ran away. There’s no word on what motivated the shooting.
The suspect was arrested and charged with murder.
May 16: Mayor Bass ordered an immediate “surge” of police on Metro.
Bass said she’ll present a motion to the Metro Board of Directors ordering increased police deployment and a “unified command” of the various agencies that police the system.
"Yesterday, as chair of the board of Metro, I directed an immediate surge of law enforcement personnel on Metro buses and rail cars and stations," she said.
May 20: Sheriff Robert Luna said we should crack down on fare evasion to prevent violent crime.
Luna told KNX News’ Emily Valdez that 143 of 153 people arrested for violent crimes in the past year didn’t have valid fare. In his view, forcing them to pay or leave could prevent them from committing crimes.
"If you go ride trains like ours in New York, DC, or Boston, it is very challenging to get in there without paying fare because their infrastructure is different - where ours is wide open," Luna said.
May 21: A man was injured in a stabbing on a Metro bus in Lynwood.
The victim was stabbed in the leg and hospitalized in stable condition, according to the sheriff's department.
The suspect was arrested. It’s unclear what prompted the stabbing.
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