An off-duty FBI agent fatally shot a person following an altercation inside a bustling Washington D.C. train station Wednesday evening, police said.
The agent was at the Metro Center station when they got into an altercation with another person on the train platform just after 6:20 p.m., Ashan Benedict, the executive assistant Chief of Police for Metropolitan Police Department, said in a news conference.
In the argument, one of the individuals grabbed the other and they both fell down an 8-foot drop over a side wall, located away from the train tracks at the end of the platform, and continued to struggle, police said.
“Both of the individuals go off the side of the wall and that struggle continues. Shots end up being fired during that struggle,” Benedict said.
The off-duty veteran FBI special agent was the one who opened fire and the victim shot was pronounced deceased, Benedict said.
The FBI agent was transported to an area hospital for treatment for minor injuries.
It’s not clear what precipitated the argument.
When asked if the off-duty agent started the altercation, Benedict said, “doesn’t appear so, he appears to be the victim.”
It’s not clear if the shooting victim had a gun. Police said late Wednesday they hadn’t recovered another firearm.
Police said there’s no threat to the train system and the Metropolitan Police Department will investigate with help from the FBI.
The sound of gunfire caused a scare at the station during busy rush hour.
Witness Lisa Crawford said her train pulled into Metro Center and what she saw was “like a zombie movie,” she said to NBC Washington.
“People were running for their lives.”
Crawford said she yelled, “Everybody get down! Active shooter!” before the train moved on to the next station and the train operator told passengers to get off.