--- title: Los Angeles Bus Passenger Yells 'I Have Ebola' description: Los Angeles officials are investigating a possible terrorist threat, after a bus rider yelled, "Don't mess with me, I have Ebola!" canonical: https://time.com/3504583/los-angeles-bus-passenger-yells-i-have-ebola/ author: Elizabeth Barber article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-14T04:15:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T10:45:51.383Z article:section: Health og:title: 'I Have Ebola,' Yells L.A. Bus Passenger og:description: Los Angeles officials are investigating a possible terrorist threat, after a bus rider yelled, "Don't mess with me, I have Ebola!" og:url: https://time.com/3504583/los-angeles-bus-passenger-yells-i-have-ebola/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'I Have Ebola,' Yells L.A. Bus Passenger twitter:description: Los Angeles officials are investigating a possible terrorist threat, after a bus rider yelled, "Don't mess with me, I have Ebola!" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Los Angeles Bus Passenger Yells 'I Have Ebola' by [Elizabeth Barber](/author/elizabeth-barber/) ## Elizabeth Barber Oct 14, 2014 4:15 AM CUT by [Elizabeth Barber](/author/elizabeth-barber/) ## Elizabeth Barber Oct 14, 2014 4:15 AM CUT Los Angeles authorities are [investigating](http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-metro-bus-ebola-20141013-story.html "undefined") what is being treated as a terrorist threat, after a masked passenger on a local bus yelled, “Don’t mess with me, I have Ebola!” The driver of the bus has been quarantined, and the vehicle has been pulled out of service, the Los Angeles _Times_ reports. Meanwhile, the passenger fled the scene and has not yet been identified, according to the newspaper. Officials at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health told the _Times_ they doubt the passenger has the virus and suspect his claim was hoax. Still, metro officials said the incident is being investigated as a possible terrorist threat and are working with authorities to identify the man through onboard surveillance footage. The U.S. has been on heightened alert for Ebola, the virus besieging West Africa, since a Dallas nurse last week became the first person to contract the virus on U.S. soil, after treating a Liberian man who arrived in Texas with the disease. \[[Los Angeles _Times_](http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-metro-bus-ebola-20141013-story.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3504583/los-angeles-bus-passenger-yells-i-have-ebola/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3504583/los-angeles-bus-passenger-yells-i-have-ebola/"},"headline":"Los Angeles Bus Passenger Yells 'I Have Ebola'","datePublished":"2014-10-14T04:15:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:45:51.383Z","description":"A Los Angeles bus rider is either sick with Ebola or playing a sick joke","url":"https://time.com/3504583/los-angeles-bus-passenger-yells-i-have-ebola/","keywords":["ebola","los angeles"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Elizabeth Barber","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/elizabeth-barber/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/ebola/","name":"ebola"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3504583/los-angeles-bus-passenger-yells-i-have-ebola/","name":"Los Angeles Bus Passenger Yells 'I Have Ebola'"}}]}] ```