Man shot at DC’s Union Station

A security guard shot a man Friday afternoon in Washington’s Union Station after the man allegedly stabbed a woman nearby, according to D.C. police.

The man died later in the day, the Associated Press reported Friday evening.

The city’s Metropolitan Police Department received reports of gunshots at Union Station at approximately 12:45 p.m. When authorities arrived at the station, which is located near the Capitol, they found a male with a single gunshot wound and a woman with a knife wound.

{mosads}Both victims were transported to area hospitals with what were categorized at the time as non-life threatening injuries, police said. The Hill observed what appeared to be the male suspect being taken on a stretcher outside shortly after 1 p.m. 

Law enforcement officials said there was an apparent domestic altercation in an entrance between Kaiser Permanente and the Securities and Exchange Commission building, which neighbors Union Station.

A private security guard in the area witnessed the man stab the woman, then chased him about 50 feet into Union Station, near a McDonald’s, where the man allegedly pointed the knife at the officer.

The officer then fired a single round from his issued weapon, striking the man in the side, according to police. Based on preliminary information, the officer appeared to have taken appropriate action, police said.

“Obviously, with this being 9/11, fears were heightened and escalated,” Metro Police Commander Jeff Brown told reporters inside Union Station on Friday afternoon.

Police said there was no apparent link between the shooting and the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, describing it as a domestic incident.

The man was reportedly shot near a McDonald’s in Union Station, which is a hub for Amtrak, the Metrorail subway system and several regional commuter railways.

“It’s pretty frightening,” said Melinda Taylor, an Alaska resident who is in town for a convention and was shopping at Union Station when she heard a gunshot.

Taylor was in a store about 30 feet away from the McDonald’s when she saw people running and yelling that someone had a gun. Multiple witnesses confirmed they heard a single gunshot.

“A cop came to us and said, ‘Get out of here,’ ” Taylor said, adding that she and others relocated to another shop around the corner inside the train station, which has many restaurants and was bustling around lunchtime.

The Senate Sergeant-At-Arms tweeted shortly after the incident took place that lawmakers and Capitol visitors should steer clear of Union Station while police investigated the shooting reports.

Washington, D.C., Metrorail police officers, meanwhile, said service has not been interrupted on its Red Line, which also stops at Union Station. Passengers returned to line up for their trains shortly after the incident.

The area returned to calm around 2 p.m. as police continued to investigate the area around McDonald’s. 

Before it was known that he was dead, police had said the male suspect was likely to be charged with assault with a dangerous weapon.

The incident was first reported Friday by The Washington Post.

— This story was updated at 7:05 p.m.