A woman was killed in a stabbing early Monday on a Metro train between the North Hollywood and Universal/Studio City stations, police said.
The stabbing occurred around 5 a.m. on a train heading toward downtown Los Angeles before it arrived at the Universal/Studio City Station on Lankershim Boulevard near Universal Studios Hollywood, police said during a morning update.
In a statement, Metro said security personnel aided the victim until paramedics arrived. She died at a hospital.
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"It was a very violent scene," said the LAPD's Meghan Aguilar. "This was a completely unprovoked attack. At least, that's how it appears now."
The attacker was arrested about 30 minutes later near Ventura Boulevard and Vineland Avenue.
The suspect, later identified as 45-year-old Elliot Tramel Nowden, was arrested about 30 minutes later near Ventura Boulevard and Vineland Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. He was booked on suspicion of murder and was being held in lieu of $2 million bail.
Trains were not stopping at the station during the investigation, which was expected to take several hours.
Anyone with information about the crime was asked to call the LA Regional Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-222-TIPS or 800-222-8477.
The crime follows a series of recent violent attacks on Metro buses.
On Thursday, a man attacked a driver who refused to allow him to board an out-of-service bus in Santa Monica. On April 13, a bus driver was punched and stabbed by a man in Willowbrook. Earlier that day, a stabbing was reported on a Metro bus in the 2700 block of West Sunset Boulevard in the Silver Lake area.
In a statement to NBCLA, the press secretary for Metro Board Chair and LA Mayor Karen Bass said the transit company has increased safety precautions.
"Metro has stepped up the presence of transit security officers on its bus system as part of its broader safety strategy and will be installing reinforced barriers to further protect operators,” the statement read.
LAPD’s Deputy Chief of Transit Services, Don Graham, said that although the recent incidents are concerning, violent crime on transit has been down by 41% in the last year. He also pointed out that 30 LAPD officers sit on buses on lines that have been considered the most prone to violence.
Metro was offering free rides Monday for Earth Day.
