A 19-year-old man was shot in the leg aboard a Metro train and treated by medics at the Columbia Heights platform Monday, officials said.
Metro Transit police responded to a report of a shooting at around 3:40 p.m. on a train that was coming from the Georgia Ave-Petworth station, WMATA said.
The victim received treatment on the Columbia Heights platform and was later taken to a hospital. Officials said he was found conscious and breathing, but more information about his condition was not provided.
Two riders told News4's Jackie Bensen that a man who looked angry was walking around inside one of the cars waving a gun with at least one other person. The witnesses said he appeared to go into the next car in search of someone.
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As riders became aware there had been a shooting, they began running to the doors to get off the train and out of the station. One woman, who asked not to be identified, was on the Green Line train bound for Branch Avenue as it pulled into the Columbia Heights station about 3:30 p.m.
The witness said that when she saw a young man collapsed on the platform with a gunshot wound in his leg, she had to try and help him.
"You could see he was hit, so I ran over to him," she said. "So I got down and hugged him and I just told him, 'It's going to be OK.' And the guy took my scarf and wrapped it around his leg for pressure."
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Another rider described hearing a man, his voice raised in anger, moving through the car she was in toward the connecting doors between the trains. She said people started shouting, “Gun! He has a gun!”
The crime threw the Columbia Heights area into gridlock at rush hour. The station was closed for over an hour for the investigation.
Earlier Monday, a "mechanical malfunction" filled the Gallery Place station platform with smoke. Riders were evacuated, and Red Line service was suspended between Farragut North & NoMa Gallaudet.
A spokesperson for Metro said the station was back open, with Red Line trains serving the station on a single track. Riders should expect delays in both directions. Normal service has resumed on the Green and Yellow lines.
This is a developing story. Refresh for updates.
