A man suspected of fatally stabbing a woman on a Metro B (Red) Line train in the Studio City area remained jailed Tuesday awaiting word on possible criminal charges.
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Elliot Tramel Nowden, 45, was jailed in lieu of $2 million bail following his arrest Monday morning on suspicion of murder. He is accused in the stabbing that occurred on the subway train around 5 a.m. Monday.
KNX News' Margaret Carrero spoke with Los Angeles police Detective Meghan Aguilar about what is being done to keep locals, shaken up by the brazen crime, safe.
She said the department moved resources from other locations to North Hollywood, increasing officer visibility in the area because it helps residents feel safe. "We do want people to feel safe," Aguilar said, "but it's beyond feeling safe - it's being safe," and that's the ongoing problem.
She says it will take the collaboration between L.A. Metro and the LAPD to figure out how, with their resources, they can make public transportation in L.A. safe.
Police said the victim, who has been identified as 67-year-old Mirna Soza, had boarded the downtown-bound train at the nearby North Hollywood station and was stabbed in an apparently unprovoked attack.
Police said Soza managed to exit the train when it arrived at the Universal City Station in the 3900 block of Lankershim Boulevard in Studio City, where she was found mortally wounded on the platform.
She was taken to a hospital, where she later died.
Nowden was arrested about 30 minutes later near Ventura Boulevard and Vineland Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
According to Metro's Dave Sotero, the transit agency's "contract security" began tending to the victim on the train platform until paramedics arrived.
"The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the scene and the victim was transported to a local hospital where, unfortunately, she succumbed to her injuries," Sotero said. "Metro extends its condolences to her family and friends."
The Studio City station -- which is often used by people visiting nearby Universal Studios Hollywood -- was closed down during the investigation, meaning trains were not stopping at the location, and buses were used to shuttle passengers through the area. Metro reported early Monday afternoon that the station had been reopened.
Police said they "strongly believe" Nowden may have victimized other people, and they urged anyone who believe they were targeted by him to come forward. Anyone who believes they were victimized or has information about the stabbing was urged to call 877-LAPD-247 or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
The attack was the latest act of violence to plague the Metro transit system. Last week, a Metro bus driver got into an altercation with a suspect who kicked in the glass door of the bus. The previous weekend, a male passenger was stabbed during an argument on a Metro bus in the Silver Lake area, and a suspect was taken into custody. Later that same day, a Metro bus driver was attacked near South Los Angeles area, with the suspect punching and stabbing the driver, sheriff's officials said.
A GoFundMe for Soza has been created. You can find it here.
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