Man injured in unprovoked Koreatown bus stop attack; police seek suspect

Authorities on Wednesday were searching for a man who struck another man at a Koreatown bus stop in what police called an unprovoked attack.

The crime, captured on security video, occurred about 1:45 p.m. Tuesday at a bus stop at Wilshire Boulevard and Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles Police Department Officer Drake Madison said.

“It was unprovoked,” Madison told City News Service.

The suspect was sitting on a bus bench and the victim was standing about six feet away from him with his back turned when the suspect got up, walked toward the victim and slugged him, Madison said.

Video shows the suspect elbowing the man in the face, causing him to fall to the ground. The injured man was knocked unconscious, and was treated at a hospital and released, Madison said.

The attack suspect remains at large and was described by the LAPD as a man approximately 30 to 35 years old, about 5-feet-8-inches tall and weighing about 250 pounds. He was last seen wearing a light-colored T-shirt over blue pants and carrying a black backpack and a duffel bag.

The victim, who was identified only as “Leo” at his request, told Fox11 he was minding his own business, playing a game on his phone when he was approached by the unidentified suspect and struck in the face.

“He was sitting on the bench and I was standing up enjoying my game,” Leo told Fox11. “I guess he just didn’t like what I was doing. I had no music on, it was quiet, I was minding my own business, and he just came up and struck me violently.”

Video shows him on the ground afterward, not moving. Another person is seen approaching and apparently trying to defuse the situation by engaging with the suspect, taking his attention away from Leo, Fox11 reported.

Leo, a U.S. Navy veteran, told Fox11 he suffered a contusion on the back of his head from hitting the ground and a cut on his nose.

Anyone with information on the attack was urged to call detectives at 213-382-9450 or 877-LAPD-247.

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