A gunman went on a rampage Wednesday morning in Southeast D.C., shooting people seemingly at random after altercations on a public bus and at the Potomac Avenue Metro station.
In the end, authorities said a Metro employee was killed and three other people were injured. The suspected shooter, identified by authorities as 31-year-old Isaiah Trotman, of Southeast D.C., was tackled by passengers on the Metro train and is in custody.
He faces charges of first-degree murder while armed, kidnapping while armed and assault with a dangerous weapon (gun).
The Metropolitan Police Department held a press conference to provide updates on the shooting. D.C.'s Mayor Muriel Bowser, Metro's GM Randy Clarke and Metro Transit Police leaders were also at the scene.
"We believe this to be a series of individual events," MPD Executive Assistant Chief of Police Ashan Benedict said.
It all began around 9 a.m. Wednesday on a Metrobus. The suspect was in an argument, followed the victim off the bus, and then shot them in the legs. That person ran off and was transported to a hospital, police said.
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The agitated shooter made his way into the Potomac Avenue Metrorail station. He talked to someone getting a MetroCard at a fare machine and shot them in the legs. He may have also pulled the victim over the turnstiles, according to police.
The suspect continued down the escalator and got in an altercation with a woman on the station's platform. Two Metro Transit employees were watching this unfold. One of them attempted to intervene and was shot by the shooter.
The employee died at the scene.
A second WMATA employee also tried to deescalate the situation. Police believe he did so successfully, because no one else was shot after the intervention.
The shooter then got on and off the train several times.
“Similar to the situation on the bus, he’s walking around brandishing a firearm, and just randomly engaging people in conversation. He’s clearly agitated about something. We’re just not sure at this point – that’s going to take some time, the investigation," Benedict said.
Benedict said he confronted passengers stuck on the stopped train before being tackled. The passengers then fled the scene. The suspect on the platform alone when he was taken into custody.
"Our officers were there within minutes of getting the call for service. But due to the heroic actions of our citizens, of our community, to disarm this shooter – I can’t put a price on that. I think they saved lives. That’s to be commended. But the fact that our citizens have to intervene with armed gunmen is disturbing to me," Benedict said.
Rashard Frost, a witness who was standing on the platform, said he watched in disbelief.
“At that point like, even me, I was trying to assess what was going on, because again, I had my music on,” Frost said. “So, I was like, I asked the guy, ‘Like were those gunshots?’ and he was like ‘Yeah,’ and that’s when I saw the guy drop.”
Frost said people in the train were “freaked out” when the gunman walked towards them.
Three victims are in the hospital. Two have leg injuries and one has an injured finger, according to police.
The Metro employee who was killed has been identified as Robert Cunningham, 64. He was a mechanic in the power department, according to a Metro release.
Metro's GM Randy Clarke described Cunningham as a “really heroic individual." He said it is a really sad day for the company and they will be lowering their flags to half-staff.
Mayor Bowser said Cunningham was "very brave."
“We have to reckon in our country why it's so easy to get a gun, why do we need more guns than people?" Bowser said.
Blue, Orange and Silver Line train service was suspended between the closed Federal Center SW and Minnesota Avenue stations while police investigated. Shuttle buses were available during the disruption, the Metro Transit Police tweeted.
Normal service resumed at about 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
There was a large police presence at the intersection of Potomac Avenue and 14th Street following the incident.
Police are asking witnesses to come forward and share videos.
Spate of Metro Shootings Recently
The Potomac Avenue shooting continues a recent string of shootings in Metro stations.
On Dec. 7, an off-duty FBI agent fatally shot someone on the Metro Center station platform. In a separate incident the next day, a teenager shot three people at the Benning Road station.
On Jan. 3, one teenager was killed, and another was injured in a targeted shooting at the Congress Heights station.
On Jan. 7, a man was shot and killed right outside the Navy Yard Metro station.
Metro riders have expressed concerns about their safety in the wake of the recent violence, at a time when the Washington Metro Transit Authority is attempting to win back riders lost during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the hours following the shooting Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689, Metro's largest transit union, released a statement asking officials to review safety protocol.
"The heroes that run our transit day in and day out and the riders they faithfully serve deserve to go to work knowing they are free from fear of violence," @ATULocal689 tweeted.
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