BART police: Officers shoot armed suspect who ran onto tracks

BART police officers shot and wounded a man who they say was armed with a handgun and ran onto the tracks on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020. BART police officers shot and wounded a man who they say was armed with a handgun and ran onto the tracks on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020. Photo: Halbergman/Getty Images Photo: Halbergman/Getty Images Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close BART police: Officers shoot armed suspect who ran onto tracks 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

EL CERRITO (BCN) -- BART's El Cerrito del Norte station remained closed late Saturday afternoon as BART police detectives investigated an officer-involved shooting that left a young adult male with "life-threatening injuries," BART police chief Ed Alvarez said.

Officers were called about 2 p.m. for a report of a domestic disturbance on a northbound train involving a young man and a young woman, Alvarez said during a news conference outside the El Cerrito del Norte station. The two were having an argument, Alvarez said, and the caller to police said she saw a handgun in the suspect's waistband.

BART officers boarded the train and confronted the suspect at gunpoint, Alvarez said; the suspect then ran out of the train, onto the station platform and then onto the tracks. Alvarez said the suspect displayed a handgun while on the trackway, and police fired at him at that point, Alvarez said.

The suspect was then taken to a nearby hospital, where he was being treated for life-threatening injuries late Saturday afternoon, Alvarez said.

The station was closed shortly after 2 p.m. Saturday.

Two BART officers were directly involved with the incident, Alvarez said; it wasn't immediately known how many shots were fired.

"Our officers reacted the way they were trained to react," Alvarez said. "They did a good job."

As of 5 p.m., BART's El Cerrito del Norte and Richmond stations remained closed, with trains on the Richmond line running as far as El Cerrito Plaza and then turning around.

AC Transit is providing service from the North Berkeley station and rider should take the AC Transit Bus 52 and transfer to Bus 72 or 72M to El Cerrito Plaza and Richmond.

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