WASHINGTON — In the past two months, shots have been fired at least twice inside the Potomac Avenue Metro Station.
Last month, Robert Cunningham, 64, of Montgomery County, Maryland, was killed, after he tried to wrestle a gun away from a man’s hands at the Potomac Avenue Metro Station in DC’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.
On Thursday night, shots were fired again inside the Potomac Avenue Metro Station. This time no one was hurt.
"We've gotten calls and tweets from people asking us the guardian angels to patrol," said John Ayala. He's the founder of the DC Guardian Angels.
His crew was on patrol at the station Friday night.
"We getting a lot of thumbs up people wanna talk to us and say it makes us feel a lot safer knowing that we're here," said Ayala.
Since arriving at the nation's capital in 1989, the D.C. Guardian Angels have patrolled Metro on and off. As of late, they've been focusing more heavily on it.
Less than four miles from where they were on patrol Friday night, commuters had another scare.
WMATA told WUSA9 police responded to the Benning Road Station around 7 p.m. Initial reports indicated there was someone inside the station with a gun, but WMATA said they never found a gun. They did, however, arrest three people.
In February, Mayor Murial Bowser announced that MTPD officers would partner on patrols at five stations and transit centers with MPD officers. Two officers per station conduct joint patrols to increase visibility and response time, especially during rush hours (6-10 a.m. and 3-7 p.m.)
Based on the crime data, the following stations saw the first patrol units:
- Metro Center
- Gallery Place
- Georgia Ave-Petworth
- Congress Heights
- Union Station
"We've increased police patrols by 25-30% over the last few months. We are working on our camera program and we have hired mental health specialists, they are intervention officers," said WMATA General Manager Randy Clarke.
In an email to WUSA9 Friday night, WMATA shared the following:
We have MPD officers at Metro Center, Gallery Place, Georgia Ave-Petworth, Congress Heights, and Union Station.
Beginning next week MPD will move to Brookland and Benning Road stations. Special police will then patrol at Georgia Ave – Petworth and Congress Heights.
In addition, special police are assigned to Potomac Ave, Fort Totten, Minnesota Ave, Columbia Heights, Stadium-Armory, Shaw-Howard U, Foggy Bottom, and Rhode Island Ave. At stations with special police, officers are on duty from opening through closing.
Metro has also partnered with police from outside agencies at Greenbelt, Addison Road, Ronald Reagan National Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, and Cheverly.
As for Ayala and his Guardian Angels, he told WUSA9 that they're hoping to recruit more people to join their efforts and want to also get back out on patrol in communities.
"We're the eyes and ears, and if we see something we alert police so they can come do their job," said Ayala.
If you're interested in volunteering your time with them contact the DC Guardian Angels by calling (202) 359-0601.