A California city is shutting down its bus service for the entire weekend after a passenger fatally shot a 42-year-old driver in a horrifying attack aboard a bus in Mar Vista.
Culver City announced Friday that all Culver CityBus service would be suspended through the weekend as the community mourns the driver, who was gunned down around 5:15 p.m. Thursday.
The driver, whose name is being withheld out of respect for his family, was rushed to a nearby hospital after paramedics treated him at the scene. He was later pronounced dead.
“We have lost a deeply valued member of our City family to a senseless act of violence,” Mayor Freddy Puza wrote in the Instagram post. “We are grieving the loss of someone who dedicated their time and talents to serving Culver City and who made a meaningful difference through that service every day.”
The suspected gunman, described by police as a male passenger in his 40s, remained on the loose Friday morning. He fled on foot or by bicycle after the shooting, and the weapon has yet to be recovered.
The suspect appeared to be intoxicated and had gotten into a confrontation with the driver over a missed exit or a wrong turn, LAPD Capt. Eric Eppolito told local media at the scene Thursday.
“Apparently he was in a verbal dispute with the Culver City bus driver over missing an exit or going in the wrong direction. That kind of escalated to the point where our suspect pulled out a handgun, some type of handgun in a bag, which led to a couple of shots fired,” Eppolito said.
Two other passengers were aboard the bus when the gunfire erupted, but neither was injured.
The case has been handed over to homicide detectives as investigators search for the shooter and work to establish what led to the deadly confrontation.
Culver City officials said the decision to suspend service was made to “honor this loss and give our team time to grieve.”
City employees are also being offered crisis support following the killing.
The announcement drew an outpouring of support online, with riders and former transit workers expressing sympathy for the driver’s colleagues and praising the city’s decision.
“I have profound respect for you honoring the operator as well as supporting your employees in this manner,” a former bus operator for another company commented.
“As someone who grew up here taking the bus all the time: Culver City bus is literally the best and this horrendous crime is so saddening,” another user commented.
The city closed its announcement with a message to riders ahead of the service’s eventual return.
“When services do resume, please be kind to our operators and transit team as they navigate this unimaginable tragedy.”
