A 39-year-old man was shot and killed on a Metro train in the Baldwin Hills area Friday night, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Police were called to the 5600 block of Jefferson Boulevard, near the La Cienega/Jefferson E Line station, around 7:40 p.m., according to Officer Drake Madison, a department spokesman.
The shooting occurred after an altercation between the victim and four male suspects that “culminated on the train,” he said. One of the suspects pulled out a firearm and shot the victim, he said.
The suspects were described as between 15 and 20 years old and were seen fleeing the area on foot or possibly on skateboards, Madison said.
Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to the incident, but the victim was pronounced dead at the scene, Madison said.
It was not immediately clear if the incident was gang-related, he said.
As of 11 p.m., service on the E Line between the Expo/La Brea and La Cienega/Jefferson stations remained disrupted and was replaced by shuttle buses due to police activity, according to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
The shooting is the latest in a recent series of violent incidents on the Los Angeles Metro system.
In May, a passenger was shot and killed on a bus in the City of Commerce. That same month, a woman's arm was cut off in an elevator at the Vermont/Athens station, and two people were stabbed during a fight that began aboard a bus in Glendale.
In April, a 66-year-old woman was stabbed to death on the B Line near the Universal City station.
The series of violent attacks led Mayor Karen Bass in May to order an “increase” in law enforcement on the bus and train system, saying the increase in violent crime is “absolutely unacceptable.”
Times staff writer Rachel Uranga contributed to this report.
