Metro attacks: Suspect arrested in serial bus assaults

A 24-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a series of eight attacks on Metro buses across Los Angeles County, officials said.

Hector Resendez was arrested Friday on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.

Resendez was arrested at a gas station near Pacific Boulevard and Slauson Avenue in Huntington Park, an hour after the latest attack occurred at Atlantic Boulevard and Slauson in Maywood at 10:35 a.m, according to the Sheriff’s Department news release.

Police had increased their presence on Pacific Boulevard after the attack and took him into custody without incident. Authorities say Resendez was arrested with the weapon he used in the attacks, but officials did not say what kind of weapon it was.

An earlier attack on a 56-year-old victim was reported at 5:30 a.m. Friday, authorities said.

In that incident, which occurred on a Metro bus near the intersection of Avenue 26 and Figueroa Street in Cypress Park, the victim was stabbed with a screwdriver, according to reports.

The first assault in the string of eight attacks was reported June 16, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which patrols the bus lines. The assaults were reported at different times of the day.

In the attacks, the suspect would take a seat behind the victims and attack as the bus came to a stop, sheriff’s Cmdr. Ronene Anda told KCBS-TV Channel 2.

“As the bus is coming to a stop ... he gets up and grabs his weapon and stabs the victim once or twice,” he said.

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