Los Angeles bus hijacking: Suspect shoots passenger before taking vehicle on one-hour joy ride: 'It was just like Speed'

A suspect took an MTA bus hostage and led cops on a terrifying one-hour chase through the streets of Los Angeles in wild scenes overnight. 

The gunman, who has not been identified, shot a passenger as the incident unfolded at around 12:45am on Wednesday. 

After leading cops for over six miles through the city, the suspect was apprehended by a SWAT team shortly after 2am. 

A witness said the manic chase through the California hub 'looked like the movie Speed.'  

Images circulating online of the end of the chase showed the MTA bus pulled over to the side of the road as an armored police vehicle stopped in front of it. 

During the pursuit, the suspect drove the bus down the wrong direction of a one-way street, and police reportedly deployed wheel spike strips to burst its tyers. 

When the suspect stopped the bus in front of the armored vehicle, a standoff with police ensued with a loudspeaker. 

The gunman appeared to be holding at least one person hostage during the chase and subsequent standoff. 

Police said they initially believed more than one person had hijacked the bus as the driver appeared to be under the direction of the hijacker at gunpoint.

It is unclear if the victim who drove the bus was the same who was shot and taken hostage, or if there were other passengers onboard during the chase. 

The suspect was arrested at the scene, while the shot victim transported to hospital in critical condition. According to the Citizen crime reporting app, the victim was a 48-year-old man who was shot twice.  

Officials have not offered the suspect's name nor the motive for the crazed incident, but said he was believed to be connected to another earlier shooting.