October 03, 2026
Bus driver shot dead over a missed stop; Culver City suspends all weekend service
Headline card by The Night Desk
A Culver CityBus driver was shot and killed inside his bus Thursday evening after a passenger confronted him over a missed stop, and the city has suspended its entire bus system through the weekend as transit workers grieve.
The shooting happened around 5:15 p.m. Thursday near Centinela Avenue and Mitchell Avenue in Mar Vista, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Officers found the driver — a man in his 40s whose name is being withheld pending family notification — suffering from two gunshot wounds. He was treated at the scene and taken to a hospital, where he later died.
How it happened
Police said the driver was in a verbal dispute with a male passenger over a missed stop or a wrong turn. The passenger, who witnesses said appeared intoxicated, pulled a handgun from a bag and fired at least twice, according to investigators.
Two other passengers were aboard the bus when the gunfire erupted. Neither was injured, and both were questioned as key witnesses.
The suspect fled the scene on a bicycle — police say he may have taken it from the front rack of the bus — and remained at large through Friday morning. LAPD's Robbery-Homicide Division, which is handling the case, arrested the suspect Friday evening. Detectives have not released his name or details of the arrest.
Authorities confirmed the bus was equipped with cameras, and detectives are reviewing the internal surveillance footage.
A city shuts down its buses
Culver City announced Friday that all Culver CityBus service would be suspended through the weekend "to honor this loss and give our team time to grieve." The city said crisis support services will be provided to municipal employees.
"We have lost a deeply valued member of our City family to a senseless act of violence," Mayor Freddy Puza said in a statement. "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."
Puza added: "Behind every City service are people who care deeply about this community, and tonight we mourn one of our own."
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."
All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
Source: FOX 11 Los Angeles
Source: FOX 11 Los Angeles — read the original report
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