One person dead, suspect arrested for hijacking LA Metro bus

UPDATE (1:55 PM): Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is holding a press conference Wednesday afternoon.

According to NBC News, the press conference is to provide "updates on public safety strategies to keep Metro riders and operators safe."

To watch the livestream of the press conference, see attached video.

LOS ANGELES (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - A metro bus hijacking led to a nearly hour-long pursuit and left one person dead in Los Angeles Wednesday morning.

The deadly series of events began just before 1:00am when police responded to a call for shots fired and spotted and man armed with a gun boarding the bus.

Officials said the man made the bus driver travel though downtown while police followed behind. At some point, the gunman shot a passenger on board the bus.

SWAT officers were eventually able to stop the vehicle with spike strips.

"When the bus came to a stop, officers used their training that we received from the MTA to disable the bus so that it could not move further. And officers from our SWAT team set up on the bus, made entry to the bus for a dynamic rescue," said Deputy Chief Donald Graham, commanding officer for the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Transit Services Bureau.

The driver and injured passenger were rescued, but that passenger later died from their injures. A second passenger, who hid in the back of the bus during the hijacking, was also rescued.

The gunman was taken into custody and an investigation is ongoing.