A man followed, banged on, blocked and yelled at a Mount Vernon Express shuttle Wednesday afternoon after the shuttle reportedly came close to hitting his car, students reported.
Multiple students claimed that a man followed the shuttle to the Vern with his car door open after the two vehicles almost collided near Washington Circle. Officials issued a GW Alert at around 1:10 p.m., citing urgent police activity near the Whitehaven Parkway entrance to the Mount Vernon Campus and advising community members to avoid the area.
A video of the incident obtained by The Hatchet shows a car following a Vex shuttle down the street with the driver’s door open.
Some students alleged that the man had a firearm and pointed it at the Vex driver. University spokesperson Julia Metjian said the GW Police Department and Metropolitan Police Department confirmed that the man did not have a weapon, and there is “no active threat” to the Vern campus.
A student on another Vex shuttle said officials instructed shuttle drivers not to leave the Vern campus while the alert remained active. Officials issued an all clear at 1:55 p.m.
GWPD said MPD responded to the incident and deferred comment on the situation to a University spokesperson. At least one GWPD car and officer were waiting for the Vex to arrive at the Vern, according to a photo obtained by The Hatchet.
An MPD spokesperson confirmed that GWPD officers responded to a traffic incident involving a GW shuttle.
First-year Jordan Juliano, who was riding the Vex involved in the incident, said a man driving a blue Chevy started yelling at the Vex near Washington Circle after it came close to hitting his car and proceeded to get out of his vehicle and bang on the shuttle when it stopped at a red light. He said the Vex driver opted to continue driving when the light turned green, and the man got back into his car and followed the shuttle.
“I assume we cut them off, and when that happened the driver in the blue Chevy opened his door and started yelling at the Vex,” Juliano said. “And during this time it was a red light so we weren’t going, and then at one point, he started banging on the Vex.”
Juliano said the Vex then stopped at a red light on K Street, and the man parked in front of the Vex to prevent the shuttle from moving forward. He said the Vex backed up and went around the car, which prompted the man to begin banging on the shuttle again.
“This blue Chevy with his door wide open is following us, and that was a little scary because he’s following us, we don’t know what he does, if he has a gun, if he has a weapon, what his intention was,” Juliano said.
Molly St. Clair and Ryan Saenz contributed reporting
