BART Police Release Photos Of Suspect In Stabbing On Train At Fruitvale Station
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- BART police on Saturday morning released photos from surveillance video of the suspect in a stabbing on a train Friday afternoon that shut down Fruitvale station for nearly two hours.
The BART Twitter account posted the images shortly after 10 a.m. Saturday, asking that anyone with information about the man pictured contact BART police.
BART Police today released these images of a suspect being sought in connection with a stabbing onboard a train at the Fruitvale Station yesterday afternoon. Anyone with information is asked to call BART Police at (510) 464-7000. Read more: https://t.co/VPZmwZLtv0 pic.twitter.com/RuCFH5Nsm9
— BART (@SFBART) March 23, 2019
The suspect is described as an African-American male, 30 to 35 years old, 5'6"-5'8" tall with a slender build. He was wearing an Army green colored jacket and blue jeans. He was carrying a light green backpack and black duffel bag.
BART's deputy police chief appealed to the public Saturday for help finding the suspect.
"There were several people on the train who saw what happened. Some came forward, and some did not," Alvarez said in a news conference at BART headquarters in Oakland. "We are asking anyone who recognizes the individual to come forward."
Alvarez said it was not a random attack.
Alvarez added that both violent and property crimes are down on BART, though "we are peaking a little bit in the San Francisco area because of cellphone thefts."
The agency has beefed up enforcement efforts over the past year, using overtime because "we don't have a lot of the manpower we are in need of right now," Alvarez said. He said BART is recruiting officers.
Authorities said at around 2:48 p.m. on Friday, there was a fight between two males passengers that resulted in one of the men being stabbed on board a Richmond-bound train coming into Fruitvale Station.
The train operator stopped the train at station, where both the victim and the suspect got out.
Paramedics rushed the victim to a hospital. They said he suffered from serious injuries, but was expected to survive.
Police shut down the station for nearly two hours to investigate and search for the suspect. They're reviewing surveillance footage to identify the suspect. They have not released a description of the man.
"It was two -- one was to the left side of the face, and other one was the right side of neck," said Alvarez.
While police gathered evidence, Fruitvale station was closed with trains running through the station and not stopping. Parallel bus service was provided by AC transit bus lines #1 and #45.
Shortly before 5 p.m., BART officials announced that the station had reopened and partial service had been restored.