By Lookout Staff

April 18, 2024 -- LA County sheriff's deputies arrested a suspect after he attacked a Metro bus driver inside an out-of-service bus in Downtown Santa Monica early Thursday morning.

The attack took place shortly after 1:40 a.m. on the 1600 block of Fifth Street when the suspect tried to get on the bus, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

When the driver didn't open, the suspect allegedly kicked in the glass door, attacked the driver and fled, LASD officials said.

The driver was treated for unspecified injuries, officials said. Sheriffs deputies arrested the suspect.

The attack comes five days after two stabbings took place Saturday on Metro buses.

In the first attack, a passenger stabbed an elderly male passenger during an argument on a westbound bus in the 2700 block of West Sunset Boulevard in the Silver Lake area, according to City News Service.

The victim was transported to Los Angeles General Medical Center in stable condition, and the suspect was arrested.

The second attack took place at 8:30 p.m. in the South Los Angeles area when a bus stopped at the intersection of 119th Street and Wilmington Avenue.

According to Metro officials, the driver stopped the bus and was punched, then stabbed, by the suspect without provocation. The suspect exited the bus and fled. He remains at large.

The rise in crime aboard public transportation prompted the City to hire unarmed security guards to patrol Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus (BBB) system.

Last month, the guards began patrolling high-traffic routes and select bus stops to deter crime and unwanted behavior ("Guards to Begin Patrolling City Buses," March 8, 2024).