Fruitvale BART Station Reopens As Police Search For Stabbing Suspect
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Police in Oakland are searching for a male suspect in a stabbing on a BART train arriving at Fruitvale station Friday afternoon that shut down the station for nearly two hours, according to authorities.
The first word of the incident surfaced when the SF BART alert Twitter account posted that trains were not stopping at the Fruitvale station due to police activity shortly after 3 p.m., causing major delays.
Trains are not stopping at FTVL due to police activity.
— BART Alert (@SFBARTalert) March 22, 2019
Major delay at FTVL in DUBL, WARM, RICH and DALY dirs due to police activity.
— BART Alert (@SFBARTalert) March 22, 2019
BART later confirmed that there was a fight between two males 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 say he suffers from serious injuries, but is 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.
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.
FTVL stn has reopened and partial train svc in DUBL and WARM dir has been restored at FTVL stn.
— BART Alert (@SFBARTalert) March 22, 2019
Some passengers KPIX are frustrated that violence continues to happen in the BART system.
"I'm exhausted of it. It doesn't make any sense. This is public transportation. Do something," said BART rider Victoria Wimberley.
The most high profile attack in the system in recent years is the killing of Nia Wilson at a different Oakland BART station. Police say a man killed the young woman with a knife last year. Investigators say that attack was unprovoked and the suspect did not know Wilson.
"It's like the middle of the day. Before, it used to be a thing at night, you've got to be careful. Now it doesn't really matter, " said BART passenger Temujen Johnson.
Passengers say BART needs to do a better job of keeping riders safe.
"There's always an incident, we need more security on the trains and on the platform," said Wimberley.
BART spokeswoman Anna Duckworth says the transit police department hired more officers last year than any prior year. She says they plan to ask for money to hire another 19 officers.