Man Arrested For Allegedly Stabbing Bus Passenger In East LA

EAST LOS ANGELES, CA – A man was arrested Thursday in East Los Angeles for allegedly stabbing and critically injuring a fellow passenger aboard a transit bus. Manuel Ortiz, a 27-year-old transient, was arrested about 1 a.m. and booked on suspicion of attempted murder in connection with the attack, which occurred about 10:15 a.m. Monday in the 5700 block of Whittier Boulevard aboard a Montebello Public Transit bus, according to sheriff's officials.

The victim, a man in his 20s, remains hospitalized in critical condition with life-threatening injuries, the sheriff's department reported.

A motive for the stabbing was unknown.

County Supervisor Hilda Solis had announced on Wednesday that she would ask her colleagues on the Board of Supervisors to formally approve a $20,000 reward offer next Tuesday for help in solving the crime.

In announcing the arrest, the sheriff's department said homicide detectives arrested Ortiz "after being contacted by members of the public."

"Manuel Ortiz is a Los Angeles County area transient," the sheriff's statement said. "He was detained while being treated at a medical facility for unspecified reasons."

Ortiz was being held without bail.

City News Service contributed to this post; Image via Shutterstock