WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A man hijacked a Washington D.C. bus on Tuesday and drove it into a gas station, killing a pedestrian in an incident that was over in less than three minutes, police said.
The bus driver tripped an alarm and fled the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority vehicle after the man attacked him with a weapon, police said.
"The suspect appeared to be very distraught and violent," Police Chief Cathy Lanier told reporters. Police did not identify the attacker.
The attacker drove the bus over the curb and into the gas station, hitting a male pedestrian who was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.
Police took the suspect into custody and Lanier said he may have been taken to a hospital.
She declined to describe the weapon. Washington's WRC-TV, an NBC affiliate, said the suspect put needle-nosed pliers to the driver's neck when he took over the vehicle.
The driver suffered injuries that police described as not life-threatening. No passengers were injured.
(Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Andrew Hay)