A PASSENGER on an Amtrak train was shot dead Friday as it travelled through Missouri, reports say.
Authorities identified Richie Aaron Jr, 31, as the victim, saying he was killed while the train was stopped at a station in Lee’s Summit.
3
3
A manhunt continued Saturday with officials saying they believed the suspect had got off the train at the station and fled.
The train continued to Independence, Missouri, after shots had been fired because it wasn’t immediately known that Aaron had been wounded, according to Fox 4.
Police did learn there were not “a large number of passengers” in the train car, and those on board “did not immediately recognize that a person had been shot,” according to an update Saturday afternoon by Sgt. Chris Depue, a spokesman for the Lee’s Summit Police Department.
However, by the time it reached Independence at around 9.15pm, the cops had been alerted and emergency personnel were waiting.
Aaron was pronounced dead at the scene, a KMBC-TV report said.
Amtrak released a statement saying it was complying with the ongoing investigation.
Most read in The Sun
“Amtrak is supporting local authorities who are investigating a tragic incident last night involving two passengers on Train 313. One of the passengers is a fatality, while the other left the scene in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. There were no injuries to the other 81 passengers and the Amtrak crew and they were all provided alternate transportation to their final destination. … Amtrak takes its responsibility for safe travel seriously,” the company said.
In an unrelated incident on Saturday, an Amtrak conductor was killed after she fell from a train at a station at Westerly, Rhode Island, according to Westerly Police Chief Shawn Lacey.
The train was prevented from leaving the station as staff could not locate the conductor.
She was also unresponsive to her radio, the Boston Globe said.
The conductor has been identified as a 26-year-old woman from Massachusetts by police.
“She was preparing to stop at the Westerly station as they opened the doors prior to stopping,” Chief Lacey said. “Something must have happened causing her to fall she must have become caught underneath the train and was killed as a result.”
Amtrak police will lead the investigation, Westerly police said.
Amtrak said in a statement to NBC10: “We are deeply saddened to report the death of an Amtrak employee in Westerly, R.I. today. We are respecting the family’s privacy by not naming the employee at this time. No other injuries were reported, and a full investigation is underway.”
3
We pay for your stories!
Do you have a story for The US Sun team?
