The tram driver was 59 years old and had been in the job several years. He was not immediately named.
"The deceased worked for us from 2018, colleagues have spoken very highly about him ... We express our deepest condolences to the deceased's family and friends, and we will support his family," Andrejs Rjabcevs, the public relations manager of "Liepājas tram", told Rus.lsm.lv.
The motives for the attack are currently unclear. A passenger attacked the tram driver with a knife, stabbing him in the neck. The attack took place on a new tram equipped with video surveillance.
Ryabtsev said that the videos from the tram and the driver's cab had been handed over to the police. The state police were informed that the attacker was immediately detained by the municipal police. The detained man was reportedly under the influence of alcohol, Gita Gžibovska, a spokeswoman for the State Police, told the LETA newswire.
The attack took place at the last stop of the tram line, Brīvības Street, near the former "Liepājas metalurgs" steelworks. Tram traffic was stopped around 3 pm, but was resumed shortly before 5 pm.
According to the information provided by the State Police, a similar crime - an attack on a public transport driver - last took place in Liepāja in February 2018.
