STUDIO CITY : Knife-Wielding Men Hijack RTD Bus
Two men wielding a knife hijacked a Rapid Transit District bus Monday, ordering the driver to let them off in Studio City, RTD officials said.
RTD spokesman Greg Davy said no arrests had been made in the incident, which occurred after the men boarded the bus at 3rd and Alvarado streets at 1:30 a.m.
“The men got on and immediately threatened” the driver, who was the only person on the bus that normally travels between downtown and Beverly Hills, Davy said. One man was carrying a knife with an eight-inch blade, he said.
The men ordered the driver to keep his hands on the steering wheel, preventing him from reaching under the driver’s console to push a button that signals the RTD dispatch center to call police.
The men then issued directions to Studio City and fled the bus when it stopped at Carpenter Avenue and Ventura Boulevard, Davy said.
The driver was not injured. And RTD officials remain unclear of the motive of the men, who did not attempt to steal anything.
“It could have been for fun, or it could have been they wanted a free ride to the Valley,” Davy said.
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