In a bizarre-sounding crime, a man armed with what eyewitnesses describe as a screwdriver or needle-nosed pliers commandeered a bus in Northeast D.C. this morning. Before all was said and done, a pedestrian lay dead and several damaged vehicles lay in the swath cut by the hijacked vehicle.
According to NBC Washington:
Police say the suspect got on the bus in the 3800 block of Jay Street NE about 10:30 a.m. When the bus arrived at its next stop, the suspect got up and attacked the driver with a weapon.
The driver managed to get off the bus, but suffered a back injury in the process. He is expected to be OK.
D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said the passengers on the bus also ran off the bus when they saw the attack happening.
The suspect then drove the bus a short distance, causing several crashes along the way. Lanier said the suspect entered a gas station on Minnesota Avenue NE, went over the curb and struck a pedestrian in the parking lot of the gas station. The pedestrian, who police say was a man, was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Ultimately, police took the suspect into custody, describing him as “distraught and violent.”
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Earlier reports indicated that there were multiple suspects involved in the hijacking, and that they were moreover juveniles. The vehicle was also described as a minivan carrying seniors.
Bus transporting seniors was hit by juveniles who hijacked Metro bus in DC. Seniors on board fine @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/RBFvTvkY8P
— Kristin Wright (@kwrightnbc4) May 3, 2016
So far, no motive for the crime has been revealed, nor has the suspect’s identity.
This is a developing story. Updates will be added as new information becomes available.
