A man charged with targeting commuters and killing a railroad worker in the shooting at the Potomac Avenue subway station has been hospitalized for a mental health evaluation, according to a DC police spokesman.
Isaiah Trotman, 31, of southeastern Washington, was not scheduled to appear in DC Superior Court on Thursday, a court spokesman said. He is charged with armed first-degree murder, armed kidnapping, and assault with a dangerous weapon.
Police said three people were shot, including Robert Cunningham, a 64-year-old subway mechanic who was killed trying to stop the shooters. Two others were shot and wounded in the leg, and police said a fourth person injured his hand as he rushed away from the firing.
Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck said Trotman was taken in for an evaluation after he was arrested. He said the motive remained unclear.
Police said the attack began around 9:20 a.m. on a moving Metrobus from Maryland and ended on the underground platform of a train station on the 1400 block of Potomac Avenue in southeastern Washington.
Police said the gunman pursued the passenger as he exited the bus and shot him in the leg. The shooter then descended an escalator and shot another person in the leg at a Metro fare card stand, police said.
He then approached a woman on the platform with a gun under his arm, officials said. Cunningham tried to intervene, but he was shot dead, police said. A second crew member was exhausted from de-escalating the situation and police took him into custody after other passengers on the platform tackled the shooter, officials said.
Police call Cunningham a hero.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
