Brentwood

“He smashed me in the back of the head with a rock”

By Prince Of Petworth

A reader reports: “This happened at 7:30 pm Sunday night at the Rhode Island Metro Station. He smashed me in the back of the head with a rock. Police are pursuing assault with a deadly weapon charges. By my count, he attacked at least six other people.”

Update:

Following is a letter the victim sent to the WMATA GM:

“I am writing about an assault that happened to me at the Rhode Island Ave. Metro Station yesterday. (Case #2023-09870)

I, and a number of other metro passengers, were attacked by a violent teenager attempting to steal cars at the Rhode Island stop. [he was asking for our car keys. When I wouldn’t give him the car keys, he smashed me in the back of the head with the rock.]

More concerningly, Metro Transit Police took more than 25 minutes to respond to the active and violent threat to our safety. This teenager bashed me in the back of the head with a large rock — verified on CCTV — before attacking multiple other passengers and people around the station.

He put his hands on young women and attempted to knock over a man on a bike before stealing someone else’s iPhone. All of this activity happened after I was attacked and while we all waited for a police response.

I’m troubled and disheartened by the lack of timely response by Metro Transit Police and the genuine safety threat we faced at the Rhode Island Metro Station. I have been a passionate defender of Metro but this situation leaves me feeling unsafe and exposed to dangerous threats.

If the violent teenager had a more lethal weapon, someone could have been killed. Can you explain why we, as customers, don’t deserve more of a commitment to public safety?

The contractor security guards at the station were amazed and disappointed by the lack of response by transit police. I was advised to carry pepper spray on the Metro to protect myself in the future. Is this the only solution available to me?

I’m emailing you before I share this information with local media; I was hoping to get an answer from someone at Metro by COB today. Metro’s success depends in large part on customers feeling safe and secure at stations and on trains.

I cannot and do not currently believe my personal safety is a concern to your organization.”