A man died after being pepper-sprayed by an assailant during a verbal altercation on a Metro bus in Koreatown, and the suspect was being sought Friday, police said.
Los Angeles Police Department officers from the Olympic Division were called to the intersection of Western Avenue and Olympic Boulevard at 10:49 p.m. Thursday regarding an assault with a deadly weapon call, an LAPD spokesman told City News Service.
When the officers arrived, they learned the two men had been involved in an argument and at some point the suspect began pepper spraying the victim and then ran off the bus, police said.
Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics were called to the scene and pronounced the victim dead. The name of the 63-year-old man was being withheld, pending notification of his next of kin. It was not immediately known if the man had any preexisting condition that made him more susceptible to being harmed by the chemical spray.
Police said the “exact manner and cause of death remain uncertain pending the completion of an autopsy and thorough investigation.”
Video surveillance showed police on the bus gathering evidence from the altercation. No description was released of the suspect, who police said was in his 30s wearing black clothing and rainbow-colored shoes. Anyone with information on the case was urged to call 877-LAPD-247.