Police seek information in Metro brawl

Metro transit police leaders hope the public can help fill in the blanks regarding a big brawl on the Green Line. It was so bad four people, some of them with broken bones, were sent to the hospital.

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Metro transit police leaders hope the public can help fill in the blanks.

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A late night blow-out brawl on Metro's Green Line ended with ambulances, four people injured, three arrests and another black eye on the transit system.

"I ain't surprised by it! There should more transit police on the trains," said Metro rider Tony Johnson.

But a lot of riders are surprised to hear about a fight that by media estimates was some 70-people strong. Some people reportedly called for police help but never saw an officer though Metro says they had at least a dozen and D.C. police had 10 more.

Metro Transit Police Deputy Chief Dave Webb said, "There was some lag time in response as the movement went from -- the train left Gallery to L'Enfant Plaza. But we did eventually get enough officers on the scene there."

But Friday's massive pushing and shoving match even had some victims questioning how they got caught up in the chaos. Riders we talked to at lunchtime said they've never seen late night violence on the system.

"Never been threatened or hassled in any way," said Metro rider Jonathan Bradford.

Gallery Place has long been on transit police's radar with targeted police enforcement aimed at knocking down youth-driven crime.

Webb told us, "There have been other after-school fights. They've occurred in stations and in bus bays."

Police say they still don't know what prompted the Friday night fight that began around 11 p.m. at Gallery Place, carried over onto a train and ended at L'Enfant Plaza with three teen boys under arrest. Two of those boys were 16 years old and the other boy was 18.

"I live on the green line! I live in Columbia Heights and I've never seen anything like that. That's utterly shocking to me. I'm really surprised," said Metro rider Sarah Campbell.

Police plan to add more undercover and uniformed officers to the affected stations next weekend.

Police say they can't share any surveillance video until they rule out whether there are any witnesses or victims they need to protect.

If you have information, police want to hear from you. Call them at 202-962-1792.

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