According to the agency, one of its recently hired transit security guards pulled a revolver, taking out a possible threat before it put people in danger.
What Happened?
Clint Simpson has been a DART rider for a long time and has witnessed a lot of dangerous circumstances. “There’s people of all different walks of life that come on the train…and then they get on…and they do what they do,” Simpson stated.
Mary Wells, a passenger, reported that she has frequently heard of people being attacked on trains. “It’s always like I just missed it and it’s a little disturbing,” she stated.
DART hired 100 armed security personnel in July to work mostly on the DART train system as a response to the crime. This is on top of their 73 fare enforcement officers and 205 state-certified police officers.
“I can tell you from my interactions, of course, 1) as a rider, and 2) speaking with other passengers, that they have gotten a real benefit to having these additional officers on platforms and trains,” Gordon Shattles, a spokesperson for DART, said.
North Dallas Attacked Security Agents
Shattles reported that at approximately 7 p.m. on Monday, a passenger on the Red Line train at the Walnut Hill Station in North Dallas attacked one of the agency’s new security agents.
(Photo: Google)
He added that the passenger was hit in the arm by the security guard’s gunshot. Nobody else suffered harm. Ivy Mathis, the suspect, was taken into the Dallas County Jail after being accused of assaulting a security guard.
“This TSO program, I believe, is going in the right direction,” Shattles stated. “Hopefully, in the next several months we’ll actually have that first round of, ‘Are we seeing a physical reduction in crime?'”
There are vacancies for roughly 50 police officers and 25 fare enforcement officers, according to DART, who is working to make even more safety and security improvements. Additionally, officials want to replace their cameras.
