An 18-year-old woman was fatally shot late Friday on a Metro bus in the Westchester area of Los Angeles after attempting to intervene in an altercation between her boyfriend and another man. ABC7 reports that the incident occurred around 10:45 p.m. near the intersection of Manchester and Belford avenues, where the woman reportedly used pepper spray in an effort to defuse the situation before she was shot.
The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating the shooting as possibly gang-related. After the bus driver heard gunshots from the rear of the vehicle, he stopped immediately to allow all passengers to exit, said Metro spokesman Jose Ubaldo, as stated by KTLA. The victim was found injured and was subsequently transported to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
The suspect, described only as a 20-year-old man, fled the scene on foot and remained at large, as per ABC7. Information on whether the incident was definitively gang-related remains unclear, and no further details have been made available. Authorities are urging anyone with knowledge about the shooting to call the LA Regional Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-222-TIPS (8477). The investigation into the tragic event is ongoing.
