More Details Released About Metro Stabbing, Shooting Incident

HOLLYWOOD, CA— Authorities have released more information about the man accused of stabbing a security guard at a Metro station Tuesday who was fatally shot by a guard at the station.

Officers and paramedics were dispatched to the Vermont/Sunset B Line station at around 9:10 a.m., according to the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles Fire Department.

The incident began on a B Line train when a passenger pressed an emergency alarm button, which caused the train to stop before it reached the station, according to Metro.

The man ran off the train and into a non-public area of the Vermont/Sunset station. An altercation between the man and security guards followed: The guards used pepper spray on the man, the man stabbed one of the guards in the leg, and the guard "fired a weapon in self-defense," striking the man, according to a Metro release.

"The trespasser did not survive his injuries," the statement continues.

The guard was transported to a local hospital in stable condition. It's unclear if the guard who shot the man was the same one who had been stabbed.

On Wednesday, the fatally wounded man was identified by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner as Ryan Ludwick, 31, whose city of residence was not known. Ludwick was found dead on a sidewalk a short distance from the station.

The stabbing and shooting is the latest in a string of violent incidents that have plagued Metro recently.

On April 22, a woman was stabbed to death while getting off the strain at the Universal City/Studio City Metro B Line Station, in what authorities believe was an unprovoked attack.

Later that week, the Metro board declared a public safety emergency, which came after a series of attacks on bus drivers. Assaults on bus operators increased from 92 attacks in 2019 to 160 in 2023, and they continue to escalate this year, according to Metro.

City News Service contributed to this report.