Off-duty FBI agent fatally shoots man at D.C. Metro Center

Dec. 7 (UPI) -- An off-duty FBI special agent fatally shot a man at a Washington, D.C., subway station Wednesday evening after the two got into an altercation, authorities said.

The incident began at about 6:20 p.m. on the Red Line platform at Metro Center while several people were waiting for a train to arrive, Ashan Benedict, executive assistant chief of police at the Metropolitan Police Department, said during a press conference.

The cause of the fight was under investigation. During the fight, one of the men grabbed the other causing them to go over a side wall and fall eight feet from the platform to a nearby walkway. As the fighting continued, the FBI agent fired his gun, fatally striking the man, Benedict said.

Several shots were fired, Benedict said, adding that they are still investigating whether the other man had a gun. A second weapon had not yet been recovered.

Asked if the FBI agent had started the fight, Benedict said it doesn't appear so.

"He appears to be the victim," he said.

The FBI agent has been transferred to a local hospital for treatment for injuries sustained seemingly from the eight-foot fall, he added.

The identities of the FBI agent and the slain man were not released to the public, but Benedict described the federal officer as a veteran assigned to FBI headquarters.

D.C. Metro said the Red Line service, which had been suspended, has since returned to a single track bypassing Metro Center due to police activity.