rapist but for some reason that man fell through the cracks. saturday april 2, 9:00 at night, a person reports a man mast bathing on the red line -- masturbating on the red line. the victim recorded the incident on the cell phone. by april 6, metro transit police identified the suspect at 39-year-old john hicks of northeast. but officers didn't arrest him. then one week later, hicks allegedly raped a woman at knifepoint. inside of a red line train car traveling between forest glen and the glenmont station. despite quick arrest, wmata never put out an alert. the only hint of john hicks' alleged crimes, this vague one-line mention in the metro police blotter published nearly a month later. >> i'll take a look at it. again, from my perspective it was no threat to the community because we captured the person. kevin: after takin

questions reporters, metro g.m. paul wiedefeld mandated the agency publicize all violent crimes the same day they happen. members of congress applaud that decree. >> i think people are more concerned with incidents like that, than they are with smoke in the car. >> i feel that he will take to heart what we said today and put more information out. kevin: metro transit police say they did not arrest hicks after his alleged master base incident -- master base incident because they were waiting for the arrest warrant to come down. he used his smart trip card after the alleged crimes and undetected until after the fact. i'm kevin lewis, abc7 news. alison: now to the violence on the green line. last night a 24-year-old man

way to work at the branch avenue station at 9:00. he says he boarded an empty car and that the group followed him. as soon as the train left the station he says they attacked him and that one of them was holding a gun. >> hit me with the pistol. he took my shoes. that is when the friend came up. you know, reflex. you will try to move it. i did that, he was like if you do it again i'll shoot you. his friend grabbed my shoulder and he kept hitting me with the pistol. the dude with the pistol didn't stop hitting me. >> the man suffered a number of injuries. currently has staples. the suspect made off with his iphone, his back pack. and his shoes. awful. leon: metro general manager paul wiedefeld said in the past there aren't enough metro transit police officers to have one on every train at all times. but today he told abc7 transportation reporter brianne carter that metro is working with local police departments to try to get more help from officers on board

the train. alison: breaking news out of land over. this is where route 704 is closed at ardwick ardmore road. after tractor trailer caught fire. the flames are out. jonathan elias has more on what happened. jonathan: the truck was hauling iced tea which is appropriate considering what is going on outside. warm temperatures. the truck caught fire and the driver got out without injuries. as a result, a hazmat team called to the scene. working to offload the diesel fuel from the truck. what we don't know is exactly how this fire got started in the first place. the driver does tell the fire department he had been having problems with the truck turbo and on his way to dealership when this happened. that fire caused $150,000 damage. again, that highway was closed down in both directions for a time. we are now in touch with the prince george's county fire

department. alison: a brazen jewelry store robbery that led to a gun fight with police and a car crash and then a decade crash. the suspects are behind bars. they just spoke with the jewelry store owner. >> in a busy springfield shopping center a police officer exchanged gunfire with armed robber trying to escape the jewelry store. >> he ran from there. he jumped over. he had the gun right here on my head. >> the owner reyes said his arms were zip tied behind his back. his life threatened but he had the courage to grab the cell phone. >> i t guy stood up and said you want to get killed? you want me to shoot you? i will shoot you. >> at some point he threw reyes in back storeroom where he called 911. minute later he heard shooting outside. >> we thought it was construction. it was loud. i hear pop

>> at the sandwich shop next door the manager said he rushed 15 customers and employees in the restaurant's fridge. >> saturday afternoon. i have kids in here. >> the chief called responding officer actions brave. >> this is my opinion is in accordance with how we train. the high level of training. this officer is a hero. >> meantime, muhammad reyes thanks god he was not injured. he is hoping the police will recover stolen merchandise so he can he open the store. >> he took 80% of the jewelry in the showcase. >> there are multiple surveillance cameras inside the store and in the plaza. because of the ongoing investigation police have not released the footage. we should note a bystander injured in the gun fire is expected to survive the injuries. police also say they believe that round was fired by the suspect not the officer who responded here. reporting live in sp

mike carter-conneen, abc7 news. alison: thank you. you can track crime in your neighborhood with the spot crime map we have on the website, wjla.com. leon: days and weeks of dreary weather around here we earn today's gorgeous day. don't you think? alison: we did. leon: chief meteorologist doug hill has a check on tonight's forecast. looking good. doug: about time, isn't it? it's delightful out there. the temperatures are in the 80's. a little cloudy at times but it's all fair weather cloudiness. we are in fine shape. the numbers are impressive. 83 at reagan national airport. west/northwesterly winds at 10. fairly dry. the first time this month we have hit 80 degree mark. tonight is a beautiful weather for the nats. 80 degrees at first pitch with the sunny skies. mostly clear. the forecast tomorrow, sunny and warm. low humidity. 86. we get to thursday and friday. heat and the humidity build more. then the holiday weekend. we have time for that and give you complete details here at the ocean beaches coming up in a couple of minutes. back to you. alison: we look forward to that. thank you very much. we are keeping a clos

out of virginia. where governor terry mcauliffe says he followed the law when he accepted donations during his 2013 campaign. northern virginia bureau chief jeff goldberg is live on capitol hill where the governor matched up a meeting. jeff? jeff: that is right. governor mcauliffe saying repeatedly today he is 100% confident he did not accept any illegal campaign contributions. the governor ending his day of prescheduled press events at the capitol. he is meeting with the member of the virginia delegation to discuss issues related to metro. this morning it was in alexandria announcing funding for probation and parole funding. but the questions are focusing on the investigation by the f.b.i. and the justice department in one of mcauliffe's donors, businessman wang wenliang. wang is a chinese national and american citizen who through his american company donated $120,000 to the governor's 2013 campaign and

governor mcauliffe saying today he has never met or spoken with wang but the lawyers fully vetted wang's donation closely. it still remains unclear what started the investigation. or what evidence, if any, authorities have against the governor. >> investigations happen. no one alleged any wrongdoing on my part. there is an individual who wrote a check who we feel 100% certain is entitled to write the check. that is all i can tell you. do your own research. jeff: probably the f.b.i. and the federal investigators are doing exactly that. the governor says he learned about the investigation through cnn and that he has not been contacted by the federal authorities. but said that if he is, he is certainly happy to talk about the situations. coming up at 6:00, what the investigation potentially means to governor mcauliffe's close ties to the 2016 presidential election. until then live at the capitol. jeff goldberg, abc7 news. leon: thank you, jeff.

bill cosby will stand trial in a criminal sex assault case. that ruling came out hours ago. michelle marsh with reaction. michelle: it took three hours for the judge to hear from three witnesses. but it only took ten minutes for her to decide the case will go to trial. >> we are here because we want to seek the truth. we are here to serve justice. >> cosby is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting andrea constand in his pennsylvania home in 2004. the judge reaching her decision after hearing from three officers involved with the initial investigation. including the detective who interviewed the former temple university employee. that detective testifying constand told police cosby gave her three blue pills and wine. she then had blurred vision, couldn't talk and felt paralyzed. >> it was intoxicating to her and she was unable to concept. that is

michelle: cosby's defense team maintained taco median is innocent of the charges and the encounter was consensual. they tried to argue there were inconsistency in constand's statements to no avail. she is one of more than 50 women accusing cosby of sexual assault and misconduct. this is the only criminal case filed against him. attorney gloria allred who represents several other women in civil suits reacted after the ruling. >> i think it was the right decision based on the law. based on the facts. as provided. michelle: andrea constand was not in court today but the statement she gave police 12 years ago was front and center. civil settlement was reached in the case ten years ago and was reopened because cosby's deposition was unsealed and dozens of other women came forward. if he is convicted he faces up to ten years in jail. back to you. alison: okay. thank you.

now. a man has been arrested in connection with the drug involved death of alexia springer. 18-year-old david evers is accused of distributing the drug at the birthday party where springers overdosed. they attended high school. the fairfax county police are still investigating the case. leon: we have seen it over and over again. heroin is the drug of choice in the u.s. it's more acceptable. it's stronger and cheaper than before. drug users cross all boundaries and race, religious and even social -- socioeconomic lines. we want you to join us on a town hall meeting and discussion on heroin abuse. we have people struggling all over the country. watch for it tomorrow at 7:00 on sister station newschannel8 or streamed live at wjla.com. join the conversation. coming up on "abc7 news at 5:00" -- we can tell you about

with twitter in 140 characters or less. find out why we don't have to you. alison: then later the fall out from the long lines at t.s.a. checkpoints across the country. >> forget about bats in the belfry. how to help a woman fighting to get bees out of her chimney. >> after the rain put a damper on some businesses, farmers are coming together to help each other out. i'm amy aubert with the s

alison: trending now, changes on twitter. the social media site is sticking with 140 characters. however, in the next few months photos, video and other media won't count toward the limit. the "at" symbol won't doesn't. if you start a tweet with the "at" symbol, all the followers can see it. today's twitter poll is asking what you think of the changes. so far 68% say they think it's great. leon? leon: all right. well, plenty of pictures and videos on twitter todayment folks outside enjoying the sunshine. all of this is coming after what seemed like never ending rain. as the amy aubert explains this evening even after the clouds break up one o

storm. >> it has to get done. >> samuel and christopher -- >> at least it's not raining. amy: don't normally work at glen mire farms. >> the majority of the strawberries rely on you pick to clear them out. because of the weather, no one is coming out to pick them. >> that is where the duo and the entire group of others steps in. >> you have to hit the work when you can. >> example of farmers working together in weather-related issue. >> what is normally clear from the you pick customers is not only left sitting but will soon go bad. >> strawberries become ripe every day. it is important that you pick during that window. when it is ready to be picked. >> even on the sunny days the rain leaving the mark. >> just like jump in the pool. amy: leaving rows empty. >> it's taking

someone laid a layer of peanut butter on the ground. amy: they picked a thousand pounds of strawberries so far this morning. they expect to total 3,000 pounds from this farm alone. even the less than perfect berries getting a second chance. with the help of fabioli celliars they are throw -- cellars they are throwing around the idea of local strawberry wine, cider and perhaps beer. >> we want to do this in a way is repeatable and other regions see how we work together. amy: in loudoun county, amy aubert, abc7 news. leon: strawberry wine and cider. strawberry beer? alison: it would be different. leon: you think? doug: pass on that. alison: they are being innovative. leon: we are seeing sun. that is all that matters. alison: so nice. doug: it will turn into a summer pattern. the computer models suggest sunday and monday the weather could get not pretty around here. especially

storm system developing from the bahamas possibly. get into it and give you everything we know and what we are thinking now. walk to the weather wall. enjoy a beautiful time lapse from the weather bug camera. this is from john champs high school. 81 is there now. fair weather clouds. plenty of sunshine throughout the day. the pictures now is how it looked across the entire area on tuesday. pollen, that is up there for the tree pollen especially. mold spores in the high range. everything else is lower. the temperatures we haven't seen this warm in a long time around here. everybody in the 80's. a couple of exceptions. baltimore at 79. 82 right now in lexington park and fredericksburg. 81 at winchester and hagerstown and martinsburg and cumberland. delightful weather across the board. farther south we see the air mass of the high pressure system influencing temperatures up and down the mid-atlantic to the carolina. 83 in raleigh. cooler in columbus. 79 there. 85 in detroit. this is nice to see the pattern finally catching up

we have clear skies on the satellite and the radar. large area of the high pressure through the mid-atlantic states. giving us beautiful weather now. the winds out of the west/northwest. dry air. over the next couple of days the high will slide east. as it does, our winds will turn southerly and southwesterly. it will bring in more heat. then more humidity. also chance of the showers and the thunderstorms. watch it through the day tomorrow. plenty of sunshine. the winds will start veering a little bit here. out of the south by thursday. added humidity in the air. temperatures mid-to-upper 80's thursday and friday. then heat and the humidity, energy in the atmosphere. enough to kick off late day showers and the thunderstorms thursday afternoon and evening. friday afternoon and evening, saturday looks dry. then we get into sunday and monday. this i

has a lot of moisture in it that could develop in the central bahamas that come in north and west. this will move this way and not to sea. this will force it to move up the coast. this looks like clouds increase sunday and monday. a look at the seven-day. showers and the thunderstorms are warmer. mid-to-upper 80's. a chance of shower and storms. cooler for monday and tuesday. 85, 82. clouds and rain on monday. sunday there will be gorgeous weather in the day.

highs in the 60's. alison: everybody is aptsy to get to beach. leon: they want to get the summer started. alison: let us know. thanks. nasa released spectacular image of saturn. this is from the cassini spacecraft. in orbit around is a furn for a decade. leon: i love it. alison: i know you do. it doesn't look real. it looks like computer generated. leon: you know if it makes someone like you that doesn't care about it interested. coming up, more video here. we are

on the internet. >> the blue angels roared back to town. performing for the naval academy graduation. i will tell you when and where you see them, too. alison: first, a look at what is coming up tonight --

leon: back today. canadian armed forces did a flyover at the national mall around noon. tomorrow the planes will be at dulles airport. they get lower and lower and lower. farther east the blue angels are dazzling the crowd in the skies over annapolis. alison: brad bell was on the ground taking it in. brad: they are the

aerobatic team in the world. the blue angels. streak of blue and gold across the finally cleared sky. >> it's awesome. incredible. brad: the six f-18 hornets are in the air to perform for the national academy graduation, the flyover on friday and the full show tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. the local secret is they do to same show a day in advance in rehearsal. today. >> it's emblematic how the blue angels are part of the fabric of the community. the military bring positive things.

>> if you want to see the blue angels fly they will be in the air again tomorrow. the good place to see them are across the river over there. route 2. brad bell, abc7 news. alison: great. reminder roads will be close for the blue angel performance. a list of those at wjla.com. leon: coming up at 5:00 dooshz >> what is this guy doing? >> a mother forced to the ground and handcuffed. what police say she did to deserve that. alison: later the "7 on your side" troubleshooter turns to you as we try to get help for a woman with a buzzing problem. leon: after another meltdown on metro, the general manager heads to the hill.

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gentle touch? you get extraordinary medicine and remarkable care. novant health and uva health system are proudly partnering to bring better care to every patient. leon: checking back in on the breaking news. stephen tschida live in landover on the scene of a tractor-trailer fire that looks like it may be cleaned up now. what is the word? stephen: not cleaned up yet. you can see the buned out hull of a tractor trailer. this burst into flames an hour ago. we have video of

tractor trailer exploded in flames. the driver did get out. apparently a cargo of tea or iced tea or something of that nature. we don't know what caused the fire. a firefighter told me they believe it was a turbo on board or engine of this tractor trailer. the driver got out. they got the fire out. as we come back live you can see westbound 704 is still closed down. still slow going eastbound as the drivers go fast. at the intersection here at ardmore. traffic moving smoothly. the investigation into what caused this continues. the fire is out but the wreckage remains. still causing problems. reporting live, stephen tschida, abc7 news. alison: thank you very much. meanwhile, another disaster of a morning on the red line. this type with arcing insulator. it left the system single

tracking wth wait up to 45 minutes and crowds. brianne carter tells us this happened the same morning that the metro new general manager talking to capitol hill. >> they kicked us off one train and put us on another. and then again. >> brian: major morning delays after an all-too familiar problem. >> arcing insulator, two locations. brianne: the issue came as metro general manager faced more questions on capitol hill today on the authority state of repair. >> i think metro is unfortunately an embarrassment. brianne: testifying today the f.d.a. asking administrator said metro is making progress. for the first time since 2012, all rain traffic controllers completed annual certification. fire and safety equipment problems in tunnels have now been fixed. the upcoming safe

smoke and fire incident. however, f.d.a. says metro response to this incident at the federal center station shows much more work is needed. for a long-lasting change there. this event operational convenience was clearly prioritized above safety. >> on capitol hill, brianne carter, abc7 news. alison: so other transit agencies and counties are working to come up with alternatives for you. once it hits full swing we will look at one of the plans coming up at 5:55. leon: developing now, wait times at airports get longer and longer the transportation security administration reassigned the head of airport security. administrator peter nessinger says they are taking a different approach to speed up the line and not compromise the safety. lawmakers say it's about time. >> people are sick and tired of waiting. we can do better. >> we are bringingo

extraditing hiring. >> they say the removal of kelly hoggan had nothing to do with the criticism of his bonuses. alison: mom arrested and charged be child abuse for letting her mom drive a golf cart is opening up a dramatic arrest. her husband recorded it on his phone. this is at a vacation spot where only golf carts are allowed. julie says her 11-year-old son asked to drive back to their resident cottage. an officer pulled them over she said the situation escalated. [screaming ] >> i fell to my knees. he pushes me down to the ground. puts his knee on my back. >> the arresting officer claimed that she fail told surrender. and that she was intoxicated. uncooperative and risked injury to her son by letting him drive. the charges against her, though, have now been

but she fears it's not over because they could choose to recharge her up to two years from the date of the incident. >> do we know if it's illegal for 11-year-old to drive a golf cart? i have seen it done. a lot of places. alison: exactly. leon: speaking of little ones baby bumps and booze. it's legal. this month new york city issued guidelines saying pregnant women cannot be refused alcohol in a bar. consumer investigator kimberly suiters joins us now with details about a "7 on your side" social experiment. kimberly? kimberly: a lot of people are talking about this. while the c.d.c. now advises no amount of alcohol is safe for a growing baby it's illegal to refuse to serve a pregnant woman alcohol if she orders a drink. it might be legal but people don't like to see it. "7 on your side" s

pregnant to four local bar to capture reaction of bartenders and the drinking public. you felt it was isolated. >> in happy hour you might have a conversation with the person next to you. any conversation i tried to start no one was interested. it was immediately like eyes to the belly, eyes to the drink. out. kimberly: she told us happy hour was not so happy. tonight at 11:00 we will be back at the bar for the "7 on your side" social experiment. drinking and pregnant. see you then. leon: interesting. all right. thank you. alison: see you tonight. leon: me i'll see what happens. alison: coming up at "abc7 news at 5:00" -- road to recovery. good news for a local group left silent after burglary. leon: then coming up new at 6:00 tonight, we have all mismeasured something in the past but in the case of a half million mistake. simple gaffe is costing big bucks to get fixed. that is new at 6:00.

steve: we are inching our way closer to the memorial holiday weekend. we are looking for 80's friday midday. good drive over the dell marra beaches. thunderstorms pop up later. saturday is great. lower 70's. upper 60's on sunday. monday we are dodging rain drops. the rolling thunder will be in town on sunday with the temperatures in the lower

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alison: back with birthday wishes for robert zimmerman. you know who that is in bob dylan. he is 75 years old today. leon: talk about ryan zimmerman's brother. alison: no. i don't think so. leon: okay. update for you now. music to the ears of folks in d.c. we told you a week and a half ago someone stole the instrument from the group. they would host jam sessions for the homeless and the st. episcopal church. since the story

donated two guitars and another is on the way. they hope to start the jam sessions up again soon. we'll let you know. alison: you can see anything on the internet. like it or not. one video, though, of a door opening has received more than 2 million views on youtube. a door opening? what is so special about the door this take a listen. if that sounded familiar to you, the "star wars" love it. the door at the hotel sounds like r2d2. leon: do you think? alison: i don't know. leon: this one i don't get. okay, the woman with the chewbacca mask yesterday, i got that one. that i get. alison: that cracks you up. >> she lost it. alison:

leon: made robert burton laugh, too. alison: coming up at "abc7 news at 5:00" -- the king of his sport. he is giving back to the sport he loves. scott abraham introduces us to one of the area's impressive rising star. horace: but first. we turn to you to crowd source results for a woman fighting bees in her chimney. >> countdown to memorial day brought to you by --

leon: "7 on your side" trying to he find help for a woman with a serious bee problem. it's common for them to build hives in decks or chimneys. a viewer discovered a huge nest of bees in unusual spot. they are coming inside her home. horace holmes explains the solution is a bigger headache than the beehive. horace: she has a buzzing problem. >> we can see them. >> you can see them swarming? >> yes. the root of the woes the

chimney. nest of honey bees. hundreds, likely thousands of them waking from a long went ir's rest. >> we started to have the bees come in the house. horace: it seems to be an easy matter. light a fire and smoke them out. >> if i have a fire in the fire place i could have a fire from the wax catching fire. horace: okay, call exterminator and terminate them. >> they're protected. they can't be exterminated. horace: there is worry that honey bees will become extinct. >> i called a beekeeper who came to the house. took a ladder up and looked down the chimney. horace: it's halfway down the smoke chamber. >> it's difficult to get to, if not impossible without taking the chimney down which would cost

>> she is a recent widow retiring and down sizing and moving from the home in arlington to the lake front cottage. she can't afford $15,000. she doesn't want to move in with an active swarm of bees. with no workable solution to the problem in sight. >> i'm turning to "7 on your side." horace: here we are. we are no experts on bees, ladies and gentlemen. we have seen the problem before and we have seen possible solutions so we are turning to you, the viewers for additional help. help us! if you have a suggestion on how she can solve the buzzing problem get ahold of us on the facebook page. leave a comment on the wall. we will get back to you. pass on the suggestions to her. and report back to you on what course of action she decides to take. i talked to her late this afternoon. she says the bees are waking up and more and more are coming in the house. she needs help

mr. answer man you said you have seen it before. what would you do? horace: i don't know. not pay $15,000. alison: thought you have been stung by a bee. alison: let us know. get a check of the roadway with jamie sullivan. jamie: we have seen issues this afternoon. we earlier had a tractor trailer fire which is still close in prince george's county. that is martin luther king jr. highway. completely closed. you can see here on the beltway that northwest corner. the slowest stretch, that is the inner loo. the outer loop is not bad. getting to virginia continuing south to tysons. right now your average speed in this stretch is 22 miles per hour. if you are traveling in d.c., slowing, heading out of the city, 395. 295 volume as well. gas main break. this is in great falls. walker road closed at squire's

be in place for up to six hours. you want to plan to work around it. back to you. leon: thank you. alison: is it another lunchbox weather day? doug: it is. you couldn't pick a better day forto be visiting school and the kids to get outside. this morning the meteorologist eileen took a trip to barnard elementary school in northwest washington. while there she showed the kids a special video we did behind the scenes. how we put the weather together. how we get on tv. how to make the weather graphics. conducted a few interesting science experiments for them. use the kids as problems. the kids love to get involved in that. then they got to go outside and soak up sunshine. check out the storm chaser. first-hand. what a great day to be outside. running the abc7 kidnap was stanley. we also have a weather question from

[inaudible] doug: how do you use math in your job? good question. well, we actually more often than anything else use basic math every single day. advanced math goes in the computer models we use on a daily basis. a lot of it involves calculus and stuff over my head. we like to tell the kids, this is the way it works. if you have any interest in getting atmospheric science the more weather and the science and the high math classes you can take the better in school because it will help you in this. a lot of the calculations they are using, the newer computer models are mind blowing. again, it is high-end math. calculus especially. but the everyday math, basic math is simple. here is how it works. i am at the wall. i have 30 second for weather and the weather says you have 55 seconds. so i do that and say i have 25 more seconds

everyday math. a great question from the kids. at that age, fourth graders asking why things happen. it's great to see. alison: all the meteorologists said they knew at that age they wanted to do it for a living. doug: every one of us were weather geeks and nerds at 8, 9, 10. absolutely. leon: erin is talking to folks today. talking to no geek here. erin: he isn't. episcopal senior christian escalona never heard of the sport squash until an after-school program. now the sport has changed his life. this week's rising star takes to us episcopal high school in alexandria. here is scott abraham. >> this is squash. growing up in the bronx, episcopal senior christian escalona had no idea about the

the program squash. at the time i knew it was a vegetable. cooking class, maybe, but i'm not interested. scott: ever since the sixth grade he can't get enough of squash. >> my style of play is different from others. the way i play is unpredictable. >> it has worked. he is a corner stone of the episcopal program. >> he is respected and liked. he battles for you. you battle for him. scott: squash is a big part of his life. so much so last summer christian took part in a city squash bike ride. started in los angeles. ended in chicago. 28 days, 2,400 miles. >> it was very difficult. first day of biking we got lost in the desert. i think that says enough. >> a full circle journey to support city squash. the not for profit program that introduced him to the sport. >> at the time the phrase was yolo, you only live once.

able to get the same experience so we might as well do it. >> squashing the competition. on the court, and in life. scott abraham, abc7 sports. erin: good stuff, scott. if you know someone squashing the competition let us know at rising star. wjla.com. nominate someone for this series. leon: good idea. i'm going to the nats game. erin: i'm jealous. leon: you know what happens when i go. erin: strasburg is on the mound. alison: you have good weather. leon: yeah. alison: less than two weeks now before metro starts the safe track program. leon: take a look at an alternative when we come back ♪

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leon: breaking news now out of virginia where two people are dead after a plane crash in orange county. this happened along tinder lane at ridgefield lane. universities tell us it was a

aircraft. we have a crew on the way to the scene and we'll have more information as it comes in the newsroom. alison: covering metro tonight, the ramp-up to metro safety track push. john gonzalez shows us how alternatives are coming together. jonathan: this transit agency sees 700,000 riders each day. it affects so many jurisdictions around the d.c. area. one jurisdiction in particular, fairfax county is concerned with the impact from this so-called safe track reduced metro service. that will begin in a few days, folks. so in a rare occurrence, metro officials have come out west to the county to meet with local leaders. we can tell you that the first maintenance will greatly affect the orange, blue and the silver lines as early as june 4. 13 straight days of single tracking between falls church and ballston. so fairfax is working on a mitigation plan. for example, extra buses. urging

use the slug line and the commuter lot. the board chairman says even biking to work should be an option at this point. >> the supplemental buses we can provide. also communication, communication, communication. providing people with information about transportation and alternatives. that people may want to consider. >> now trying to do their part by adding more trains but it has limitations. regulation with the freight railroad administration. at the end of the day look, fairfax county agrees with metro's plan. but they need to find good options. in fairfax county, john gonzalez, abc7 news. alison: john tells us other groups are working on plans for the alternative in the metro safetrack push. we get more information, we will post all of it for you on the website wjla.com. that is it for "abc7 news at 5:00". but right now at 6:00 -- beaten and robbed on the green line. >> if you do

>> his friend grabbed my shirt and kept hitting me with a pistol. >> the exclusionive interview with the victim. what he saw moments before the attacks and how metro is changing its security. >> plus, half million dollar mismeasurement. where the mistake was made that made this bridge unable to do its job. plus -- there he is. rising to the top of his class. why this midshipman says his father had his back. as he capped off the plebe year. "abc7 news at 6:00" starts now. announcer: now "abc7 news at 6:00". on your side. maureen: first tonight, abc7 exclusive. a man attacked and robbed on a green line metro train tells his story. foo his story as we learn -- leon: his story as we learn of changes in metro on how you learn about the violent crime, sam ford has an interview you will see only on 7. this ca

sam: leon, maureen, we are at the faaragut north station. last night, thieves and armed robbers were on him no sooner than he got on the train in maryland. >> the train left the station. guy ran up on me with a pistol. sam: we're concealing the identity. the 25-year-old man said he left the branch avenue station at 9:00 and headed for his job downtown he noticed others getting on the empty car. >> ran up on me with a pistol. yeah. let me get the shoes. took my shoes. that is when his friend came up on me. reflesh, you know. gun in your face, you will try to move it. he said if you do it again we'll shoot you. then he kept hitting me with the pistol. the dude with the pistol didn't stop hitting me the whole time. sam: he has numerous staples in h