A timeline of violence on Metro buses and trains since the beginning of 2024

From attacks on drivers to killings of passengers, more than a dozen violent crimes have occurred at LA Metro stations or aboard the transit system's buses and trains since the start of this year.

On May 16, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced an "immediate surge" in the number of security and law enforcement officers patrolling buses and trains. Just a few hours later, a man was shot dead on a Metro bus in the city of Commerce. It marked the third homicide aboard a Metro bus or train since January.

Bass, Metro's board chair, and other officials with the transit agency had promised a series of changes including plans to deploy 20% more security personnel including uniformed officers riding buses and trains, installation of plexiglass barriers protecting drivers on every bus and enabling cell phone service in all underground stations and aboard all moving buses and trains, among other changes. It's a response to public outcry over seemingly senseless violent crimes, which several local politicians have blamed on root causes of struggles with mental health, substance use and homelessness.

Interestingly, Metro actually reported a decline over the past year in the overall number of crimes against people — a figure that includes everything from aggravated assault and battery to rape and homicide. Such crimes have gone down 41% from March of last year to this year.

But it seems like the level of violence is what has changed. For instance, there was a single homicide reported each year for 2021, 2022 and 2023. But it's not even halfway through 2024 and there's been three killings — two on buses and one aboard a train.

There's a consensus among local public officials, Metro board members, many riders and even drivers who recently protested their working conditions that the stabbings, assaults and even homicides in recent months are in desperate need of addressing.

"We cannot and do not accept this violence as normal, and we are taking swift action to end it," said Katy Yaroslavsky, LA city councilwoman and LA Metro board member.

Here is a timeline of violent incidents since the start of 2024 up until May 21.

• May 21: Deputies responded to a stabbing reported on a Metro bus in Lynwood. The victim was taken to a hospital with injuries not believed to be life-threatening and another person was detained.
• May 16: Juan Luis Gomez-Ramirez was shot and killed while riding a Metro bus in Commerce. He was taking the train home from a new job at a packing warehouse in Commerce. The suspected gunman sat behind Gomez-Ramirez after getting on the bus and later followed him to the exit. Then he shot him in the head, police said. He was charged with murder four days later.
• May 14: A man police described as homeless attacked another rider with a wrench aboard a Metro bus in Encino. The suspect slammed the wrench into the victim's chest after stealing their cell phone, authorities said. He was later arrested on suspicion of assault and battery, and the victim was injured but did not require hospitalization.
• May 13: A woman was stabbed inside an elevator at the Green Line Metro station near South Vermont Avenue in South LA. She was taken to a hospital and listed in stable condition while the suspect remained at large in the following days.
• May 13: An altercation on a Metro bus in Glendale spilled into the street and led to two people being stabbed after the driver ordered the group to get off the bus. Another two people were arrested, according to LA Metro. Police had initially described the incident as a robbery that left one person injured but Metro officials later gave an updated account of what happened.
• May 7: A Metro train rider was shot dead and a security guard was stabbed following a violent encounter in East Hollywood. A pair of security guards had chased down the rider after he allegedly pulled the train's emergency break and got off. They ran after him and pepper-sprayed him at the Metro B Line Station, and that's when the man allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed one of them in the leg. At the the time, LAPD said it was unclear if one or both guards shot at the man. After being shot, he was able to walk away but he was later found unconscious a block away and pronounced dead.   
• April 26: An argument broke out on a Metro bus in South LA and the driver ordered the passengers to get off. Once off, one person stabbed the other person several times with a knife. The suspect tried to run from the scene but was later arrested. The victim was taken to a nearby hospital in stable condition. 
• April 22: Mirna Arauz, 67, was stabbed in the throat and killed in a sudden, unprovoked attack by a man who prosecutors say tried to take her bag moments earlier as they rode a Metro train in the Studio City area. She was on her way home from work. The suspect has since been charged with murder.
• April 17: As a Metro bus traveled through Santa Monica, a man kicked in the door of the bus and attacked the driver. 
• April 13: In South LA's Willowbrook neighborhood, a man began yelling at a Metro driver on a bus. When the driver stopped the bus, police said, the man then punched him in the face and stabbed him in the chest. The driver jumped off the bus and was able to get away as the suspect eventually left in another direction. He was arrested a little over two weeks later.
• April 13: An elderly man riding a bus in Silver Lake was stabbed by another passenger after they got into an argument, according to police. The suspect was arrested and the victim was treated at a local hospital and listed in stable condition.
• April 2: Metro closed down an A Line station in Huntington Park so law enforcement could investigate the assault of a man as he was leaving the station. He suffered serious injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital. Authorities did not release information about a suspect at the time.
• March 20: A man hijacked a Metro bus, threatening the driver with a gun that turned out to be fake and causing the bus to crash into several parked cars and The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in downtown LA. The suspect ran off but officers later found and arrested him. The driver and a woman inside one of the vehicles both suffered moderate injuries and were treated at a hospital.
• Feb. 22: Darryl Winborn, 62, died after he was pepper-sprayed by another man aboard a Metro bus in Koreatown. A few days later, police arrested the suspect and booked him on suspicion of murder. 
• Jan. 4: An LAPD officer was treated for a leg injury after being attacked at a Metro station in North Hollywood. A suspect was later arrested. Authorities did not release other details about the circumstances surrounding the assault.