Fatal Police-Involved Shooting at Potomac Avenue Metro Station

The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating a fatal police-involved shooting at Potomac Avenue Station in southeast D.C.

A train operator saw an unauthorized man in the westbound tunnel about 400 feet from the platform and reported him about 8:50 p.m. Thursday.

Metro Transit Police entered the tunnel to search it, and at least one officer fired. Sources told News4's Mark Segraves the man, Bobby Gross, 35, was partially clothed and approached the officer with a large, stick-like object.

He was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. All police officers are accounted for and OK.

D.C. Firefighters Local 36 confirmed power to the third rail was shut down, and an EMS supervisor determined Gross died.

Metro said it was reviewing available surveillance video and will turn over footage to the U.S. Attorney's office and D.C. police for their review of the use of deadly force.

Trains bypassed the station, which was closed for the rest of the night. Shuttle bus service was established.

Trains single-tracked between Eastern Market and Stadium Armory, causing delays on the Orange, Blue and Silver lines.

The station opened on schedule Friday morning.

The officer who fired is on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure.

Metro Transit Police officers have been involved in occasional fatal shootings before, though it's unusual for an incident to unfold inside a subway tunnel.

In 2012, a Metro Transit Police detective fatally shot a man in a Lanham, Maryland, neighborhood while investigating an earlier abduction attempt at a Washington bus stop.

In 2003, a Washington man was fatally shot after he fled on foot from a stolen car and struggled with an officer. Prior to that shooting, the last fatal shooting by a Metro transit officer was in 1999.

The Metro Transit Police Department has 490 officers, according to Metro's website. Metro said the department is unique in that it has authority in three jurisdictions: the District of Columbia and parts of Maryland and Virginia. Officers provide law enforcement on the system's subway and bus networks.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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