Bus Shooting Suspect Released 1 Month Prior for Previous Shooting

The 20-year-old accused of shooting a man on board a MetroBus in Southeast D.C. last month had been released from jail one month prior for shooting another man nearby.

Bijon Lamont Brown was arrested on a weapons charge Wednesday after he was named a suspect in a shooting on a bus, the Metro Transit Police Department said.

Brown is suspected of firing about 10:30 p.m. Friday, August 21 on board a bus on the 2400 block of Elvans Road SE. The gunfire hit a rider, who Metro previously said was believed to be an unintended target. The victim ran from the bus and was rushed to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Sources said Thursday that Brown accidentally shot his friend.

According to court records, Brown was released from jail one month before the bus shooting after he pleaded guilty to shooting a man in the legs on the 2500 block of Pomeroy Road SE in February. He faced assault charges but pleaded to a lesser charge, allowing him to be released within months.

A witness told police a man stood in front of the bus on Aug. 21 and waved his hands. The driver stopped the bus and it was "turned off by an unknown individual outside the bus," court documents say. As the driver tried to turn the bus back on, the shooter fired, the witness said.

Surveillance cameras inside and outside the bus captured the shooting, according to court documents. MTPD officers found one bullet hole in the windshield of the bus and two more in the front door.

A Metropolitan Police Department officer who was shown a photo of the shooting suspect immediately identified him as Brown, based on previous interactions with him, court documents say.

Brown's lawyer told prosecutors in July that Brown "was himself the victim of a series of attacks by a large number of individuals." Brown told the court he was sorry for the shooting and said he fired because the men he shot at had attacked him earlier in the day.

Brown previously attended Luke C. Moore High School in Northeast D.C., near the Brookland-CUA Metro station, with a 3.3 GPA, his lawyer told prosecutors. He said he planned to enroll in college and work in mortuary science. Prior to the first shooting this year, he had no criminal record as an adult.

Metro created a temporary detour on the W8 bus line after the bus shooting, cutting service to Elvans Road after 7 p.m. for seven days. The detour was cancelled a day later, when Mayor Muriel Bowser indicated she had not known service on the Garfield-Anacostia Loop Line line would be cut.

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