A group of teenagers were fighting inside the Brookland Metro station in Northeast, D.C., Thursday afternoon when someone pulled out a gun and shot one of them, according to D.C. police, who are still searching for the suspected shooter.
On Friday, D.C. police identified the teen boy who was shot as 14-year-old Avion Evans, of Northeast D.C.
Just before 4 p.m. Thursday, a fight broke out on the platform of the Metro station, which is located in the 800 block of Monroe Street, Deputy Chief Maurice McKinney with Metro Transit Police said at a news conference.
“A suspect not involved in the altercation pulled out a firearm and shots were fired,” McKinney said.
While the teen who was shot was involved in the fight, it isn’t clear if the teen was the shooter’s intended target, McKinney said.
Police shared two images of the suspect in the shooting on social media.
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Authorities performed CPR on the teen but he was later pronounced dead at the scene by D.C. Fire and EMS personnel, D.C. police Assistant Chief Leslie Parsons said. Police have not identified the teen.
McKinney said special police officers were on the platform when shots were fired and those officers were able to “shield patrons and get them to safety.”
The Brookland station was closed while D.C. police investigated the shooting. Regular service resumed at the station around 9:50 p.m., according to the transit agency in a post on X.
D.C. police and Metro Transit Police will have an increased presence at the station. Nearby, Catholic University of America is also upping patrols.
After the shooting, people on the university’s main campus were asked to shelter-in-place and classes were canceled. The shelter-in-place order was lifted just before 6:40 p.m. after law enforcement confirmed there was no “active threat” on campus, according to a letter from the university’s president.
“The news of a fatal shooting adjacent to campus is unsettling for all of us. I encourage everyone to reach out to someone you trust to talk about your experience,” university president Peter Kilpatrick wrote in the letter.
D.C. police are investigating the shooting and ask anyone with information to call the department at 202-727-9099.
WTOP’s Veronica Canales and Jack Moore contributed to this report.
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