Friday, March 29, 2024

Two Arrested in Connection with DC Metrobus Attack on Black Woman | Video

Kyla Thurston
Kyla Thurston / YouTube screenshot

*Two adults have been arrested in connection with the assault of a Black woman on a Washington, D.C., Metrobus that was captured on video. 

The two suspects, 27-year-old Emoni Hubbard from southeast D.C. and 35-year-old Terry Barnes from Wilson, North Carolina, were arrested by Metro Transit Police. Investigators used video from the cameras on the W4 Metrobus, as well as video from a witness who filmed the attack, to identify the suspects.

In an exclusive interview with FOX 5, Kyla Thurston said she gets “emotional” anytime she thinks about being attacked and pushed off of a D.C. Metrobus last week.

“I wouldn’t want, you know, no one else to have to go through this – it’s emotional just thinking about it,” Thurston said.

READ MORE: Woman Attacked by Group of Juveniles on DC Metrobus Speaks Out | WATCH-it-Happen

 

FOX 5 obtained the clip which shows a group of wild youth — and some adults — verbally assaulting Thurston as she stands near the backdoor of the bus. The group tells her to “get off the bus” and when it comes to a stop and the doors open, the juveniles attack the woman. 

The woman who recorded the video was with her two young children and Thurston had given up her seat to the mother when she came onboard the bus. Thurston said the violent confrontation was sparked when she asked the rowdy group to stop cursing. 

“At that point, the kids became unruly. They started being disrespectful, like saying things to me,” Thurston said. “Then next thing you know, there were objects being throw at me, and I was just like, ‘Thank You, Lord,’ because throughout the whole incident the only thing I could recall was the kids hitting me and kicking me – and I had no defense.”

Thurston said she asked the bus driver numerous times to stop, but he “made no attempt to stop the bus,” she said. 

“He didn’t alert local authorities or anything to my defense. Even after I’m yelling at the top of my lungs, ‘Stop the bus – let me off the bus,’ the bus driver never stopped,” Thurston continued. 

The group allegedly threw bottles at Thurston, shoved her, and she was choked as they pushed her off the bus. The footage does not show anyone intervening to defend the woman. The mother who recorded the incident said she was too concerned for her own safety and that of her kids to step in and help the victim. She recorded the attack with the hope that the footage would lead to an arrest. 

The driver of the bus reportedly violated proper procedures, and appropriate administrative action will be taken.

“The city has dumped a ton of resources into making opportunities available for our young people, so that we don’t find them involved in these types of situations or these types of incidents – especially violent incidents,” D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee III told FOX 5. “Everyone has a right to be safe in the community and when we identify these types of things, we really have to get to the root of why they did what they did – but more importantly, make sure that in addition to accountability, that there’s also opportunity for those young people.”

Metro General Manager and CEO Randy Clarke took to Twitter on Friday to praise Attorney General Karl Racine for bringing attention to the violent bus incident. 

“I appreciate the quick work of MTPD in arresting the two adults involved in this reprehensible and unacceptable act on a Metrobus earlier this week,” he said in a statement, as reported by MSN. “I personally called the victim to apologize for what happened. This type of behavior cannot be tolerated on Metro or anywhere. We need the help of partners, guardians, parents, schools and community leaders to prevent this type of behavior.”

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