Metro Transit police are searching for a man who hit a victim over the head with a rock and threatened others outside a Northeast D.C. station.
Authorities said the man faces hate and bias charges for the attack that began inside the Rhode Island Avenue Station and continued out into the bus stop area at around 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
The first victim said he was coming down the escalator when the man approached another rider, screaming profanity and demanding car keys.
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The victim said he pulled out his phone to record and the suspect then turned on him, demanding his keys. When he refused, the suspect allegedly bashed him on the head with a rock.
The police report said the suspect then headed toward a nearby footbridge and began hitting a bicyclist with his hands, yelling, “Shoot me! What are you going to do? Shoot me!” and “This is why I hate you white people.”
A victim said the man menaced others before running away. There’s a $1,000 reward for information leading to the suspect’s arrest.
Metro General Manager Randy Clarke said he received and read an email from the victim hit with the rock, who claimed it took 25 minutes for Metro officers to arrive.
The transit system has enhanced security with armed special police officers in addition to Metro Transit police.
“The good thing is we had a special police officer there within a minute–I think one or two minutes. We look at the special police officers as part of our overall security staff,” Clarke said.
Riders at the station said news of the crime is distressing, but several also said the transit agency’s security enhancements leave them feeling safer overall.
“The new director got the recipe for curbing crime on Metro. And I feel a lot safer on Metro,” one rider said.
