Authorities are having a hard time identifying a BART passenger who was shot dead on a train at the West Oakland station Saturday night, an Alameda County coroner’s sergeant said today.
Coroner’s Sgt. Paul Graves said authorities are trying to use the man’s fingerprints to identify him but, “We haven’t yet been successful.”
Graves said it’s possible that the shooting victim is a foreign national but he added, “It could be anyone.”
BART spokesman Jim Allison said the suspect is still at large in the shooting on a San Francisco International Airport-bound train as it was approaching the West Oakland station at about 7:45 p.m. Saturday.
BART police described the suspect as a black man in his late 20s to early 30s who is about 6 feet 2 inches tall, has a skinny build with broad shoulders, a scruffy face and was wearing a long green trench coat over a dark hooded sweatshirt with its hood up, dark pants, a dark backpack and was armed with a black semi-automatic handgun.
Police said witnesses reported that the suspect used a handgun to shoot the victim multiple times and then fled on foot from the train at the West Oakland station.
Officers who responded to the shooting provided first aid to the victim but he was pronounced dead at the scene, according to BART police.
The suspect’s weapon hasn’t yet been recovered, police said.
Allison said the incident was the first fatal shooting on a BART train in the 11 years he’s been with the transit agency.
Jeff Shuttleworth, Bay City News
