Los Angeles police arrested a 24-year-old man on suspicion of kidnapping a woman with a gun Monday night on a bus east of Los Angeles, authorities said.
The woman had just boarded a Montebello Transit bus around 8:30 p.m. in the 3800 block of East 3rd when a man confronted her from behind, police said. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Surveillance video shows the bus driver and another passenger “attempting to intervene” in the confrontation, but the man exited the bus and retrieved a handgun from a nearby car, the department said. The police chief said. He pointed a weapon at the bus driver and forced the woman into a white car, possibly a 2022 Honda Civic, before driving off toward Highway 60.
The suspect, whom authorities identified as Angel Flores, was later arrested by officers from the Los Angeles Police Department on suspicion of drug or alcohol driving. Authorities said officers found a fake firearm inside Flores’ car that was similar to the handgun used in the kidnapping.
Sheriff’s detectives later also found the woman and learned she was not injured in the incident. Authorities added that she was “in a dating relationship” with the suspect.
Flores was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon and vandalism, according to the sheriff’s department. Records show he remained in custody Tuesday night instead of $5,000 bail.
Anyone with information about the incident can call the Sheriff’s Main Crimes Department at (562) 946-7893 or East LA station at (323) 264-4151. Anonymous tips can also be taken by calling Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.
