Metro train operator shot in Boyle Heights; $35K reward offered for info leading to arrest

Detectives with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department were investigating after a Metro train operator was shot in Boyle Heights on Friday morning.

The shooting happened at the Indiana Station platform Friday just after 4:10 a.m. 

The train operator was taken to a local hospital in serious condition with non-life-threatening injuries. Later, officials upgraded his condition to stable.

A $35,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the identification, apprehension and conviction of the suspect.

Investigators said a suspect walked up to the operator's cab window as the train came to a stop and fired twice through the glass. The operator ran through the train and the suspect fired two or three more shots before running off the platform and west onto Gleason Avenue, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The male suspect was wearing a white hat, gray hoodie, jeans and holding a black umbrella, according to the sheriff's department. 

The victim, whose name was not released, was struck twice in what Metro CEO Phillip A. Washington called "a brazen act of violence against a defenseless Metro operator.''

"All our front-line operators are true heroes who provide an essential service for the traveling public during this pandemic,'' he said. "We will continue to support the operator and his family and will do everything we can to help bring this perpetrator to justice. We hope this reward gives anyone who may have seen this incident or who has any information the impetus to come forward.''

This afternoon, the transit agency announced a $25,000 reward offer, and early tonight, Hilda Solis, chair of the Board of Supervisors and vice chair of Metro, said she was adding in $10,000 in an effort "to ensure that the individual responsible is held accountable for this egregious act against someone who was providing a crucial service to our community."

The shooting is being investigated by Metro Security and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, with the support of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Metro security at 888-950-SAFE.

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