On Monday evening, Foothill Transit experienced its first incident of gun violence on board one of our buses. The event occurred on the Silver Streak as it was heading toward downtown Los Angeles. First and foremost, our hearts are with the victims and their families. We’ve been working very closely with CHP on the investigation and within 24 hours, they had the suspect in custody.

It is an extreme understatement to say that this is not a first we ever wanted to achieve. But we can say without a doubt that extensive security trainings, table top exercises, and strengthened partnerships with the LA County Sherriff’s Department and the Transportation Security Administration have all had a direct impact on how this incident played out. De-escalation protocols were followed diligently by the bus operator and the victims were speedily transported to local hospitals with non-life threatening injuries. All other customers on board were safely and swiftly transferred to another bus and on board video and audio recordings were immediately shared with responding authorities. We were able to hold a unified press conference on site in collaboration with the California Highway Patrol and were able to quickly correct misreported information.

This was a tragic and horrifying moment in our agency’s history that without a doubt could have been much worse, if not for the due diligence and efforts of both our contractors, our Foothill Transit team, and our deep collaboration with first responders. Special thanks go to our Chief of Safety and Security John Curley for his steadfast attention to Foothill Transit's security protocols and crisis expertise. We also extend a deep appreciation for the strong partnership we have with the CHP and for their responsiveness and professionalism amidst crisis. Their command of the incident and its ensuing investigation has been exemplary.

We all face, as a community, multiple challenges with homelessness, untreated mental illness, and drug addiction. Addressing these issues requires deep collaboration with all our local partners, including law enforcement and our first responders, as well as our elected officials and social service networks. These issues are not unique to public transit and they affect all of our public spaces.  Foothill Transit has always made safety a top priority and now more than ever it takes teamwork with all of our stakeholders to address these concerns with compassion and care. We have a mandate to provide a safe transit system to our communities. It is ingrained in everything we do and is informing our next steps as we look to expand security presence and training to meet these unprecedented challenges.

Sincerely,

Doran Barnes
CEO, Foothill Transit