Man stabbed on Montebello bus dies of injuries two months after attack
A 27-year-old man arrested on suspicion of stabbing a fellow passenger while riding a Montebello bus in April now faces murder charges after the victim died of his injuries at a hospital on Sunday, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Authorities announced that the suspect, Manuel Ortiz, a 27-year-old transient, now faces a murder charge and his bail has increased to $2 million.
Ortiz was originally charged with attempted murder and his bail was set at $1.35 million.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s homicide detectives arrested Ortiz on April 12, three days after the assault.
The attack took place on a Montebello public bus line in East Los Angeles on the afternoon of April 9, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
When the bus arrived in the 2700 block of Whittier Boulevard, Ortiz began stabbing the other passenger multiple times in the torso before fleeing the scene, officials allege.
A 39-second video of the attack released by the Sheriff’s Department in April shows a man wearing a blue hat, sunglasses and striped shirt standing in the middle of the bus.
As the bus comes to a halt, the man appears to take a knife out of his pants pocket and heads toward the unsuspecting victim who was sitting near the door.
The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was taken to a hospital. He died of his injuries Sunday, two months after the attack, officials said.
A motive for the attack remains unclear, and Los Angeles County sheriff’s homicide detectives are still continuing their investigation.
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