Rider Reports what Appears to be an Armed Robbery

From Jennifer:

On Saturday night, at around 9:15 or 9:20, I boarded the Red Line toward Shady Grove. The car was sparsely populated, and at some point, at or near Ft. Totten, we all became aware of two tall, broad men wearing trench coats and ski masks.

They were dressed in black from head to toe, and all I could see was their eyes. They were black, but I don't see how anyone would be able to recognize them in a line-up.

One sat next to me, and glanced down at my shoes. I didn't return his look and looked out the window.

Within about five minutes, they walked over to two young black kids sitting at the back of the train behind partition.

One of the tall, shady-looking kids stood sentinel, and it was clear to me at this point they were up to no good, because his friend reached over and bent down and asked something of the kids sitting. I couldn't see much more beyond that due to the partition.

The tall kids in trench coats then got off at Brookland. The kids behind the glass stumbled over and informed a guy sitting across from me that they'd been mugged at gunpoint.

They said one of the muggers had leaned in, showed a gun, demanded that both kids give up their sneakers and iPhones, and instructed them not to get off at the next stop.

A good Samaritan to my left let them call their friends, and they got off at the next stop to make their way back, reportedly, to Brookland.

The good Samaritan asked the kids if they'd been followed onto the train from Silver Spring because the thugs asked them where they were from. There was some speculation the thieves followed the kids onto the train, but other than that, I can only speculate they were hit because they were sitting at the back of the train behind glass.

When I reached my destination, Dupont, I told the guy at the Metro booth what had happened, and he said "that's a damn shame" but didn't appear to do anything.

I'm not sure if the kids filed a report because they were in shock when they got off the train.

No one called the police while the thugs were there. No one took pictures, either. I don't know if they were actually carrying weapons, but no one got involved. I admit we were all scared, and when I saw the one thug standing sentinel, I knew something was going down, but I turned to look out the window to avoid eye contact.

The incident was frightening enough to make me decide to drive to Bethesda and take the Red Line in so that I can avoid taking it from Silver Spring in the future. This was absolutely ridiculous and scary.

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