Police searched Friday for a gunman who fled after the driver was shot aboard a city bus in Mar Vista.
LOS ANGELES, CA — A Culver CityBus driver was fatally shot Thursday during a dispute with a passenger aboard a bus in the Mar Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles, authorities said, prompting Culver City to suspend bus service through the weekend while police searched for the gunman.
The shooting occurred about 5:15 p.m. near South Centinela and Mitchell avenues on Oct. 1, according to the Los Angeles Police Department and multiple local reports. Police said the driver, a man in his 40s whose name had not been released as of Friday, was taken to a hospital and later died. Two other passengers who were aboard the bus were not injured.
Investigators said the shooting followed an argument between the driver and a passenger. Witnesses told police the passenger appeared to be intoxicated and became involved in a dispute with the driver over the bus’s direction or a missed stop. LAPD Capt. Eric Eppolito told local news outlets that the passenger then pulled out a gun and shot the driver. Authorities continued investigating the circumstances surrounding the confrontation.
The suspected gunman fled before officers arrived. Police said he was last seen wearing a white shirt and may have left on a bicycle or on foot. Some witness accounts indicated the passenger retrieved a bicycle from the front of the bus before leaving. Police had not announced an arrest by Friday morning, and no firearm was recovered at the scene.
Investigators were reviewing video and interviewing witnesses as they worked to identify and locate the suspect. The bus was equipped with cameras, providing detectives with potential evidence from inside the vehicle. Authorities had not released a detailed description of the suspect beyond the limited information provided during the initial investigation.
The killing led Culver City officials to suspend Culver CityBus service throughout the weekend. The city also said it would provide crisis support to employees as transit workers and other city staff mourned the driver’s death. The suspension affected a municipal transit system whose operators serve Culver City and surrounding communities, including parts of Los Angeles.
Mayor Freddy Puza said the city had lost a valued employee. “We are grieving the loss of someone who dedicated their time and talents to serving Culver City and who made a meaningful difference through that service every day,” Puza said in a statement. He said the loss was deeply personal for the Culver CityBus team and the broader city organization.
The shooting occurred in Mar Vista, outside Culver City’s municipal boundaries, leaving the Los Angeles Police Department responsible for the homicide investigation. LAPD’s Pacific area serves Mar Vista, and homicide detectives were working to determine the suspect’s identity and trace his movements after he left the bus.
Initial reports contained some differences about the precise circumstances of the argument and how the gunman escaped. Some accounts described a disagreement over a missed stop, while police statements reported by other outlets described a dispute over the bus traveling in the wrong direction. Authorities had not publicly established a motive beyond the reported argument, and the investigation remained active.
The driver’s identity had not been publicly released as of Friday afternoon. Police continued searching for the suspected shooter, while Culver City said its bus service would remain suspended through the weekend and crisis services would be available to staff.
Author note: Last updated Oct. 2, 2026.