One killed after gunman hijacks bus in Los Angeles police chase

Gunman takes control of vehicle and takes at least one hostage before stand-off with officers

One person has been killed after a gunman hijacked a bus in downtown Los Angeles and held its passengers hostage during a high-speed police chase, reports suggest.
The chase, which lasted more than an hour, commenced shortly after 1am on Wednesday morning when the suspect reportedly hijacked a public bus and took three hostages – the driver and two passengers.
Officers pursued the bus across the city at high speed, with the driver allegedly forced to operate the vehicle at gunpoint.
Footage of the incident posted on social media showing at least 10 emergency service vehicles chasing after the bus.
At one point, the vehicle was driven in the wrong direction on a one-way street and police deployed spike strips which burst its right tire, KABC reported.
A witness said: “It looked like the movie ‘Speed’.”
Shortly after 2am, the bus was brought to a halt eight miles northeast of where the chase began, reports suggest, with images shared online showing an armoured vehicle blocking its path.
Police then became locked in a standoff with the gunman, who appeared to be holding at least one person hostage.
In online footage claiming to show the incident, officers are heard shouting through a loudspeaker: “This is LAPD, you’re surrounded, come out with your hands up.”
A SWAT team on the scene deployed flash-bang grenades to stun the suspect, KTLA reported, before clearing the bus and taking the man into custody. Reports suggest the bus driver managed to escape through a window. 
“[The] driver is out of the bus with the help of SWAT, uninjured,” an LAPD spokesperson said.
A passenger found with gunshot wounds was taken to a hospital, where they later died, Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Donald Graham confirmed.
The bus driver “is in relatively good spirits, though a bit shaken up,” Mr Graham told reporters.