WASHINGTON — The Benning Road Metro station was closed for much of the day Thursday, with riders resorting to shuttle buses to get around. The night before, rush hour passengers saw long delays as trains bypassed a major connecter station, Metro Center, due to police activity.
While the travel delays caused headaches for many commuters, the bigger problem is not one unique to the District.
"We have a gun problem in America," Metro General Manager Randy Clarke said Thursday morning, after a second shooting in 15 hours was reported at a Metro station. "That's not just Metro's problem -- we're impacted by that. There are shootings all over the place in America. Something has to get done. I'm tired of it."
In less than 24 hours, four people had been shot on Metro platforms, with one death and one person left in critical condition.
Wednesday evening, an off-duty FBI special agent shot and killed a 28-year-old man during an alleged altercation on the Metro Center platform at around 6:30 p.m. During the fight, the pair went over a nearby wall, falling eight feet, before police say the agent shot and killed 28-year-old Troy Bullock. The agent was taken to a hospital with minor injuries sustained in the fall.
Around 9:30 a.m. Thursday, three people were shot on the Benning Road Metro platform, leaving a 15-year-old boy fighting for his life. Though details on what led to the shooting are still scarce, police believe a fight broke out between the teen injured and three other juveniles. The boy was ultimately shot in his thigh, and rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
A 34-year-old woman and another 15-year-old boy were sitting on a bench nearby when they were caught in the crossfire and shot; both are expected to survive their injuries.
Though Clarke acknowledges he is exhausted by the gun violence plaguing D.C., and the nation, he claims the transit system is still one of the safest places in the DMV region.
"You're safe," Clarke said. “If you look at it statistically, having an incident on Metro, it’s incredibly small. We are arguably the safest parts of the region and we’re working to get safer everyday."
The GM said the transit agency has stepped up police patrols by about 25% since he took charge.
According to Metro Transit Police records, as of November, all violent crimes are up year to date, save for homicides (which are not investigated by other agencies and not reported in MTPD data). In total, 857 violent crimes have been reported by MTPD in 2022, compared to 641 in 2021; 3,262 other crimes have been recorded, up from 2,905 in 2021. MTPD officers have responded to nearly 47,000 service calls and made 1,557 arrests this year.
Across the District, however, overall crime is trending down from the previous year, which some of the highest crime numbers in decades. Violent crime has decreased by 7% compared to this time last year, with homicides down 9%, and assault with a weapon down 16%.
Police said the alleged suspects in the Benning Road shooting are still on the loose, with only a vague lookout given (teens in puffy coats and dark clothing. The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information about what happened is asked to call DC Police or Metro Police.