Nashville Mayor requests review of WeGo safety after Thursday shooting
An 18-year-old was shot six times outside the station on Thursday evening, police said
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell has asked for a full review of WeGo’s safety plans after a teen was critically injured in a shooting at the downtown bus station on Thursday night.
Metro Nashville Police blocked off the front steps of WeGo Central Station on Friday morning as the investigation is ongoing. Officers said an 18-year-old was shot six times by Kenneth Johnson, 31, after a likely drug-related argument outside the station.
The teen was rushed to Vanderbilt University Medical Center where he was stable on Friday afternoon, police said.
READ MORE: Teen shot outside downtown Nashville bus station
Darius Knight said he’s really concerned shots have been fired at the station three times so far this year, according to police records.
“It’s pretty unsafe for the staff and the customer,” Knight said. “I’ve been working since 2016 explaining these issues hoping they will just correct them. Only to be told they are going to fix the problem and then year after year it never changes.”
Of Friday, O’Connell said he asked WeGo and Metro Nashville Police to review what is happening at the station to ensure it is a safe place. He said the city’s centralized transit network forces too many people to gather downtown, and his transit plan set for the November ballot would fix that.
“We ultimately want to see both a distribution of (passengers) and then increasing safety protocols at all of them,” O’Connell said. “With security at WeGo, we absolutely want it to be a safe place where passengers are making transfers, where you can work on fares and set up QuickTicket and all of those things.”
A WeGo spokesperson declined an interview opportunity on Friday but issued a statement that said the agency’s safety team works with police to keep facilities safe. WeGo is working with police in the criminal investigation.
WeGo is also currently working with a security consulting firm on a review. It includes a full system-wide analysis of hazards and vulnerability, recommendations for placement of emergency call boxes and alarms, reviewing the current security staffing and how it can be changed along with looking at new technology that can help WeGo security systems.
Knight said he wants to see more patrols and security cameras outside the station, but he doesn’t think that would be enough for the mayor’s transit plan to pass.
“These are services that all of us as taxpayers are paying for,” Knight said. “They’re expecting their customers to vote yes when their customers don’t even feel safe. When I look at this, I feel like we are going to end up in 2018 all over again.”
Metro Police said this latest shooting is particularly concerning because Johnson was found guilty on felony charges in 2013 for assaulting an officer. They’re working to file multiple state and felony charges for the incident where Johnson has claimed self-defense.
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