D.C. Metro officials are responding to a troubling double-digit spike in the crime rate this year within the transit system, directing police to immediately notify the public of any incident of violence.
A spokesman for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) said Tuesday crime is up year-over-year by 10.1 percent, and is only increasing. The alleged rape of a woman at knife point on a moving red line train in April, which broke Monday, drew renewed concern among riders about the growing crime trend. A bloody robbery Monday night aboard a green line train heading to the Suitland station is the latest crime in the system, reports WJLA.
Several grizzly crimes on the Metro this year stoked rider fears and led to an increased police presence at stations and more patrols. A mob of teens involved in a brutal assault of a passenger and police officer in January at the Gallery Place station had their charges dropped in April over a lack of hard video evidence. Police arrested a 16-year-old after he shot a man, who survived, aboard a moving Metro train in February. (RELATED: Man Accused Of Raping Woman At Knife Point Inside DC Metro Train)
Recently a 15-year-old was shot and killed on the platform of the Deanwood metro station while on his way to get a a haircut the day before Easter with his family.
“We’re not going to tolerate it,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said at the Deanwood metro crime scene. “Anytime somebody comes on Metro property, we’re going to know who they are.”
The Metropolitan Police Department said Tuesday Metro General Manager Paul Wiedefeld directed police to broadcast any violent events to the public on the same day, as long as it does not interfere with the police investigation.
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