A man was shot in the head and killed at a subway station in South Los Angeles on Friday night.
According to Los Angeles Police, the shooting happened around 7:22 p.m. at the Expo/La Cienega station in the 5600 block of West Jefferson Boulevard in Baldwin Hills.
The man was shot while other passengers were nearby on the train.
Upon arriving on scene, officers found the victim with a gunshot wound to the head, who was unconscious and not breathing. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
Witnesses described feeling fear and shock as the shooting happened during rush-hour traffic on Friday night.
“I heard three gunshots. I thought it was fireworks. I didn’t think someone would literally be firing a gun at a train at close range,” said a witness, who did not want to be identified.
Witnesses saw three men chasing the victim on the platform shortly after getting off the Metro Gold Line at the La Cienega/Jefferson station.
The victim jumped onto the train just before the doors closed.
“Three men were banging on the door, yelling, ‘Informer! Informer!'” the witness recalled. “The train eventually pulled away. The next thing it knew it was going to stop. Usually trains stop to let delayed passengers on, but in this case, they pulled out guns and shot the man at point-blank range.”
Three suspects, described as Hispanic men, were seen fleeing the scene on skateboards.
Security cameras showed several men running under the station platform shortly after the shots were fired. One man can be seen covering his face. Police have not confirmed whether the men are the same suspect.
But witnesses believe the men were definitely involved.
“They were exactly the same person because there was no one else here, it was just them,” the witness said. “The vehicle I was in was very empty. There were only about six people in it, but usually there are a lot more.”
Sky 5 video showed a large number of police officers investigating the scene and sealing off the subway station.
“Due to police activity at the Expo/La Cienega station, all E Line trains will be turning back from Culver City and La Brea stations,” Metro officials said.
For the time being, train service between La Brea and La Cienega will be replaced by a bus shuttle.
Friday’s deadly shooting comes on the heels of an alarming rise in violent crime on public transportation, including shootings, stabbings, assaults, robberies and hijackings – some of which are fatal – aimed at subway passengers and drivers.
Metro officials in May voted to approve an “immediate increase” in law enforcement to patrol buses, trains and stations to address concerns from drivers and passengers.
The latest public safety data from across LA Metro’s transit systems can be found here.
This developing story will be updated as more information becomes available.