Bus Driver Fatally Shot by Passenger

A Metro bus driver was fatally shot by a passenger in West Hollywood today. Deputies detained a man in the aftermath.

The shooting was on Santa Monica Boulevard, just west of La Cienega Boulevard, at West Knoll Drive at 9:09 a.m., said Deputy Lillian Peck of the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau.

Metro spokesman Rick Jager said the driver was piloting a Route 105 bus east on Santa Monica Boulevard when he was shot by a passenger. The driver was rushed by county paramedics to nearby Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he died at 9:30 a.m.

The Route 105 bus runs from West Hollywood south on La Cienega Boulevard, and then east on Vernon Avenue.

“From our perspective we are very concerned about this incident,'' Jager said. ``It is a very highly-unusual situation.

``Our CEO went to the scene to express his condolences,'' the MTA spokesman said. ``We are very concerned about our fellow employees.''

Hundreds of people were in West Hollywood for the Amgen Tour of California bicycle race, which traveled along Sunset Boulevard, two blocks away from the crime scene.