3 teenage girls arrested in attack on woman on BART

Three teenage girls accused of assaulting a woman on a BART train in late February were arrested this week, according to the transit agency. Three teenage girls accused of assaulting a woman on a BART train in late February were arrested this week, according to the transit agency. Photo: Sam Wolson / Sam Wolson / Special To The Chronicle Photo: Sam Wolson / Sam Wolson / Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close 3 teenage girls arrested in attack on woman on BART 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Three teenage girls accused of repeatedly punching a woman in her head as she rode a BART train at West Oakland station were arrested, and an arrest warrant was issued for a fourth suspect, the transit agency said Friday.

The arrests stemmed from a Feb. 27 assault, when BART police said the teenagers ganged up on the woman around 9 p.m aboard a train at the station. The passenger reported the assault to police the next day.

The suspects were not identified because of their age.

BART spokesman Taylor Huckaby said the assault did not appear to be targeted, and it wasn’t clear why the four teenagers went after the woman.

The Bay Area transit agency has been under public pressure to arrest those committing crimes on its trains and in its stations especially since a mob of 40 to 60 juveniles swarmed a train at Coliseum Station in East Oakland last month, beating and robbing passengers in a span of less than 5 minutes before fleeing the station into the night.

BART officials said they had identified a number of the perpetrators, and police went on to make several related arrests.

Michael Bodley is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mbodley@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @michael_bodley