DART Police are investigating a shooting that sent one person to the hospital. The incident happened Monday evening on a northbound red line train at the Walnut Hill DART Station.
DART identified the suspect as Ivy Mathis.
According to DART, a transportation security officer or TSO approached Mathis after he allegedly tried to board the train without paying.
“Our TSOs are in all our trains and platforms, checking fairs is one of their responsibilities,” Gordon Shattles, assistant vice president of external relations for DART said. “As he approached the suspect, he refused to pay fair. The officer attempted to have him leave the train. He became very combative and assaulted the officer. The officer then responded by firing his weapon and striking the individual once.”
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Pictures or videos leading up to the incident were not provided by DART.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Mathis, who was shot in the arm remains at Presbyterian Hospital and will be booked into Dallas County Jail once discharged.
“The last we want, of course, is an issue where one of our riders are injured, but as well as our security personnel,” Shattles said. “Those are people as well.”
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The officer who fired his weapon is part of the latest security addition to DART. In July, the public transit company announced it would add more than 100 armed security guards in addition to its police force.
“These are not actually TCLEOSE certified or Texas State certified police officers,” Shattles said. “They are trained as security officers. Then they receive additional training when it comes to transit.”
However, according to online data arrests for crimes including assault, drugs, robbery, theft, vandalism and weapon violations among others have consistently been above 150 since March of this year.
According to Shattles, the subcontracted officer has been reassigned to administrative duties as DART police review evidence including de-escalation tactics.
