Metro News Release
For immediate release: September 6, 2007
Two Red Line Metrorail Stations Temporarily Close as Police Pursue Suspect
A police pursuit of a criminal suspect delayed rail service for about two hours this afternoon on part of the Red Line.
The Bethesda and Medical Center Metrorail stations were closed from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. as the Montgomery County Police and Metro Transit Police pursued a suspect who fled into the Bethesda station at 3 p.m. Residual delays on the Red Line were expected through rush hour.
According to Montgomery County Police, officers stopped a man just after 2 p.m. in the 74-hundred block of Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda, Md., after receiving a tip from a concerned citizen about a suspicious person. Police identified the man as the suspect wanted for a series of theft from autos. The suspect ran from police and into the underground Bethesda Metro station on the Red Line where a Metro Transit Police officer pursued him onto a train. The suspect got off the train and assaulted the officer on the platform. He then jumped onto the tracks headed in the direction of Medical Center station.
Metro shut down power on the tracks between Bethesda and Medical Center station so Metro Transit and Montgomery County police officers could safely search for the suspect along the tracks. The suspect remains at large and Montgomery County Police plan to distribute wanted posters in the area.
"We know this afternoon's incident caused major inconvenience for our customers," said John Catoe, Jr., Metro's General Manager. "But safety must always be our top priority, and in this instance police officers were pursuing someone they believed to be a dangerous individual. Because we were concerned about the safety of our customers and employees, we could not resume rail service until we were absolutely certain it was safe to do so. We regret the inconvenience it caused for our customers, and we appreciate their understanding."
To help passengers travel around the police scene, Metro established free shuttle bus service between the Friendship Heights and Grosvenor-Strathmore Metrorail stations. Passengers who wanted to exit the same station they entered could do so at no charge until 7 p.m. due to the disruption.
News release issued at 12:00 am, September 6, 2007.