WASHINGTON — Police in D.C. are investigating after a rideshare driver was shot at Wednesday night.
Metropolitan Police Department officers were called to the 2100 block of Fendall Street in Southeast D.C. just before 9 p.m. for a report of shots fired. A Lyft driver told the responding officers that they had just been shot at. The driver was not hit, but investigators did find a bullet hole in the vehicle.
The Lyft driver told police they had just dropped off a passenger when the rider started screaming and accusing the driver of running over his headphones when he was getting out of the car. Police said the rider challenged the driver to get out and fight him, but when the driver ignored him and started to drive away, the rider fired a shot towards the car. shot rang out.
The driver told police he saw the shooter run into a nearby apartment before running out into an alley and toward W Street.
Police are still investigating the incident and no arrests have been made.
Lyft says they responded to the incident by removing the rider from the app.
"The behavior described is unacceptable and has no place in our community," a Lyft spokesperson said. "The rider account has been permanently removed from the Lyft platform. We’ve also been in contact with the driver to offer our support, and we stand ready to work with law enforcement with their investigation.”
The rideshare company added that they do have emergency help features available for drivers, including a silent escalation option that will discreetly connect the driver with ADT security, and if the driver is not in a position to answer questions, ADT will automatically alert 911.
Lyft did not respond to questions regarding statistics on how many drivers have been attacked in recent years, but shared details on how they respond to any safety incident reported on the app.
Anyone who may have information regarding this case is asked to call police at 202-727-9099 or text the department's tip line at 50411.