A Metro bus is pictured.
Authorities are looking for a man who punched and stabbed a Metro bus driver Saturday in Willowbrook.
The attacker armed with a knife began yelling at the driver, who stopped at about 8:30 p.m. near 119th Street and Wilmington Avenue in the southern Los Angeles County community. The man punched the driver and stabbed him with the knife when the bus stopped at the Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Station, according to the sheriff's department.
"The suspect, without provocation, punched the victim in the face then proceeded to stab the victim," the sheriff's department said in a statement.
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The man left the scene heading north on Willowbrook Avenue. The department released security camera images showing the man sought in the attack.
The driver, who was treated at a hospital, is recovering at home, Metro said in a statement.
"Metro is saddened to hear about this senseless act of violence against our bus operator, which was apparently fueled by drug abuse and untreated mental illness -- crises that are plaguing our nation," the statement continued.
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The attack was one of three recent violent crimes on Metro buses.
A Metro bus driver was attacked overnight in Santa Monica near Fifth Street and Colorado Avenue. Authorities arrested a person in connection with the attack .
Early Saturday morning, a stabbing was reported on a Metro bus in the 2700 block of West Sunset Boulevard in the Silver Lake area. One passenger stabbed another. The victim was hospitalized in stable condition. One person was arrested.
Anyone with information was asked to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Transit Services Bureau at 213-541-2558.
