A BART agent was recovering after being punched in the face at Oakland’s MacArthur Station by a man who fled, a BART spokesman said. The punch left a 1½-inch gash on the agent’s cheek.

The agent was near the station agent’s booth late Friday night, talking to two women who were reporting that “a man was harassing them, and that’s when the suspect punched him from behind,” said BART spokesman James Allison.