3 suspects sought after triple shooting at D.C. train station leaves teen with life-threatening injuries

David K. Li and Marlene Lenthang and Matteo Moschella
Updated ·2 min read
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3 suspects sought after triple shooting at D.C. train station leaves teen with life-threatening injuries

Three people are at large after a triple shooting Thursday morning at a Washington, D.C., transit station — the second shooting on the busy rail system in less than 24 hours, officials said.

The latest incident unfolded about 9 a.m. at the Benning Road station, which is on the Silver and Blue Lines of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority system, police said.

One of the people opened fire after the trio, all thought to be juveniles, got into a fight with a 15-year-old boy, Washington Police Cmdr. Darnel Robinson said.

The teen, who was hit in the thigh, had life-threatening injuries, NBC Washington reported. Two bystanders sitting on a nearby bench — another 15-year-old boy and a 34-year-old woman — are expected to survive their injuries, transit police said.

The three people fled, transit police said. Descriptions were not immediately available.

The authority alerted riders to service disruption at the station at 9:13 a.m. ET.

Investigators stand outside the scene of a shooting at the Benning Road Metro station in Washington, D.C. (WRC)
Investigators stand outside the scene of a shooting at the Benning Road Metro station in Washington, D.C. (WRC)

This latest incident comes after an off-duty FBI agent fatally shot a person following a dispute inside the bustling downtown Metro Center station early Wednesday evening.

The agent got into an altercation with another person on the train platform just after 6:20 p.m., said Ashan Benedict, the executive assistant chief of police for the Metropolitan Police Department.

During the argument, one of the people grabbed the other and they fell down an 8-foot drop over a side wall, located away from the train tracks at the end of the platform. They continued to struggle, police said.

After they fell over the barrier, the fight continued before gunfire erupted, Benedict said.

Regular Blue Line rider Leah Jackson Barreto, who hitched a ride to work Thursday morning with her father, was around the corner from the Benning Street station when she spotted responding police cruises racing by their car.

Barreto, 23, an office manager, works a block from the Metro Center station, the scene of Wednesday night's fatal shooting.

"I am a bit uneasy about going on to the train this evening when I have to go back home," she said.

"There are a few of my co-workers that just missed the incident yesterday, and the office is pretty empty today. I'm pretty sure that's because of all these incidents."

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com