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Authorities in West Hollywood have released the name of the man detained on suspicion of fatally shooting a Metro bus driver Sunday morning. 41-year-old Anthony Craig Chambers of Los Angeles was booked for the murder of the operator of the Route 105 bus traveling eastbound on Santa Monica Boulevard. Chambers was a passenger on the bus.
Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies say that the suspect shot the driver in the upper torso and climbed out a back window on the bus where he awaited his arrest.
"The MTA confirmed that the victim was Allen Thomas, 51, who was an MTA employee for five years," reports ABC7.
Chambers is being held in lieu of $1 million bail. The LASD say they will not release a booking photo of the suspect, and have no other information about him available at this time.
The LASD note that during their on-scene investigation, detectives discovered a suspicious package inside the bus, which arson investigators determined was not explosive, but the item was removed from the vehicle.
Of yesterday's shooting, Metro spokesperson Rick Jager remarks how rare and troubling such an incident is for the transit agency, according to City News Service: From our perspective we are very concerned about this incident,'' Jager said. "It is a very highly unusual situation."
Jager adds: "Our CEO went to the scene to express his condolences. We are very concerned about our fellow employees.''
