The Metro Transit Police Department arrested a person it said had a loaded shotgun on a bus in D.C.
Plainclothes Metro police officers stopped the person after boarding an X2 route Metrobus without paying Wednesday, just after 10:30 a.m.
The officers said the person was refusing to comply before they found a loaded gun under the rider’s coat.
MTPD arrests suspect armed with loaded shotgun aboard an X2 route bus. Plain clothes officers working bus enforcement detail stopped the suspect for fare evading onto the bus. After the suspect refused to comply, officers arrested him, & located the weapon under his coat. #wmata pic.twitter.com/ZoWaYQa6x9
— Metro Transit Police (@MetroTransitPD) December 11, 2024
“The shotgun was determined to be stolen out of Prince George’s County, Maryland,” a Metro transit police spokesperson said.
Officials identified the man as 30-year-old Gerald Evans, who already has an open felony warrant in Anne Arundel County for theft.
Evans has been charged with possession of a prohibited weapon, carrying a dangerous weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of unregistered ammunition, fugitive from justice and fare evasion, officials told WTOP.
Metro has stepped up enforcement efforts on bus fare evasion after Thanksgiving, with increased officer visibility and plainclothes officers along service routes.
The agency said it is using data to target bus routes with the highest rates of fare evasion, noting 70% of riders don’t pay their fares.
WTOP’s Ivy Lyons contributed to this report.
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