Amid federal safety probe, police search for shooter in latest MARTA violence
Authorities are still searching for a man who opened fire on a MARTA train, wounding a 17-year-old in the latest violent incident on transit property ahead of the FIFA World Cup’s arrival in Atlanta.
The Trump administration earlier this week launched a probe into MARTA after a woman was stabbed to death on a train May 30. Now, police are working to identify the person who shot a teen Friday evening at the Midtown station.
The injured 17-year-old was found with gunshot wounds to his left arm and leg, police said. He was taken to the hospital and is expected to recover. MARTA police initially provided an incorrect age for the teen.
Less than two hours after the shooting, MARTA police said in a statement it appeared “to be a targeted incident.”
When asked for more details during a news conference the following day, MARTA Police Chief Scott Kreher said the shooter and the teen arrived at the station about the same time and paid their fare one after another.
Surveillance video appeared to show the two staring at each other on the platform before the victim entered the train and sat down, Kreher told reporters. Moments later, the shooter walked into that same train car, pulled out a gun and shot repeatedly, he said.
Officers inside the Midtown station reported shots fired on a train on the southbound platform around 7 p.m. Friday, and rail service was suspended for about 90 minutes.
The wounded teen told police Saturday he didn’t know his attacker, Kreher said, but investigators are still scouring surveillance footage to see whether the two interacted at all before walking into the station.
“The video evidence shows that he intentionally went to that car,” Kreher said of the shooter. “We don’t know if there was any past history yet.”
He said the Breeze card the gunman used to cover his $2.50 fare could end up helping the investigation.
“Technology is our friend, and we certainly utilized those taps last night to help us work up a suspect,” the chief said outside MARTA headquarters. “We’re on the cusp of identifying this person.”
The agency has faced criticism in recent days about safety ahead of the World Cup. Atlanta hosts the city’s first of eight games June 15.
After last weekend’s fatal stabbing, the Federal Transit Administration announced it would launch an investigation into MARTA.
That attack was “unprovoked,” officials have said. The woman killed, 66-year-old Margaret Swan, was on a train at Oakland City when a man approached her, drew a knife and slashed her throat, according to the arrest warrant.
John Elijah Matthews, 25, was arrested and faces federal and state charges for Swan’s death. He has no criminal history, according to police.
Swan was the second person killed on MARTA properties this year. In April, 16-year-old Xavier Wright was fatally shot at the Oakland City bus loop.
On Saturday, the transit agency said additional police are being deployed, and it is “utilizing technology” to keep riders safe. It did not detail those efforts, but Kreher said even more officers are being brought in to help with security during the World Cup.
More than two dozen transit police officers are coming from Denver, and MARTA is getting additional assistance from some local agencies willing to help patrol parking lots and the areas surrounding stations. MARTA’s police officers are working six-day weeks during the games and will likely be required to work 12-hour shifts on match days.
MARTA’s police department currently has just over 270 officers. Each MARTA train has six cars, so putting an officer on every train car isn’t feasible, Kreher said. But MARTA’s new cars have an open plan, and Kreher said his goal is to put a police officer on each of the new trains as they’re brought online.
According to federal transit data, violent crimes resulting in injuries that require medical attention or death have happened on MARTA nearly twice as often as the national average.
Serious crimes like that are relatively uncommon, however. An AJC analysis of the federal data found such crimes happen once for every 1.9 million trips on a MARTA train or bus. Across all transit systems nationwide, the rate is about one crime for every 3.5 million trips.
Kreher said curbing violent crime is something he and his officers take personally, whether Atlanta is preparing to host a global event or not. But state law prohibits MARTA from banning firearms on its trains and buses.
“Anybody over the age of 18 can carry a firearm on our system at any time, and I can’t do anything about it,” he said. “Unfortunately, our hands are tied when it comes to restricting any kind of weapons.”
Federal officials have given MARTA roughly two weeks to submit information on its safety and security policies, budgets and fare evasion policies. Kreher declined to get into the details about that probe, but said his agency is still working on its response.
“I am confident that we will answer every question the FTA has, and I am looking forward to sharing some of the good things we’re doing,” he said.
— Freelance photographer Ben Hendren contributed to this report.