ROCKVILLE, Md. — An FBI agent has been charged with attempted murder in the off-duty shooting of another man on a Metro subway train last year in a Maryland suburb of Washington, D.C., according to court records unsealed Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The agent, Eduardo Valdivia, was scheduled to make his initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon in Montgomery County Circuit Court on charges including attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault and reckless endangerment.<\/p>\n
Valdivia, 37, turned himself in to local authorities at a county jail Tuesday morning, according to Chief Deputy Maxwell Uy of the Montgomery County Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n
The charges stem from a Dec. 15 shooting on a train near Medical Center Station in Bethesda. Police for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority said in a Dec. 18 statement that the agent fired multiple shots after the man had approached him that morning and they exchanged words.<\/p>\n
The statement said the wounded man was in stable condition less than a week after the shooting. It didn’t elaborate on the nature of the \u201cverbal exchange\u201d between him and the agent just before the shooting.<\/p>\n
Robert Bonsib, a lawyer for Valdivia, said in a lengthy statement that his client \u201chas had an impeccable personal and professional background.\u201d He joined the bureau in 2011, and at the time of the shooting, was providing \u201coperational guidance and programmatic oversight\u201d of FBI investigations targeting racially motivated and anti-government extremists.<\/p>\n
Valdivia was on his way to work on the morning of the shooting when he was confronted by a man who Bonsib said \u201cengaged in threatening and aggressive behavior” at close range.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne does not wait to be physically attacked \u2014 one does not wait until the threat has ‘hands on you \u2014 before one is authorized to defend oneself,\u201d Bonsib wrote. \u201cNeither does one need to retreat \u2014 when retreat is not possible \u2014 as was not possible here when Eddie Valdivia was seated at the end of the Metro car\u201d with his back against the wall and \u201cno clear exit path.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bonsib also signaled his plans to invoke in his client’s defense the background of the man who was shot in asserting that the shooting was justified. He attached documents showing a lengthy criminal history that he said matched the identity of the shooting victim, including arrests for prior sexual misconduct \u2014 such as exposing himself \u2014 as well as unprovoked physical attacks. Bonsib said court records indicate the wounded man has a history of unpredictable and violent behavior, including an 2019 incident in which the man allegedly attacked and threatened to kill somebody at a Metro station.<\/p>\n
The indictment names the man who was shot and also a second man, who it identifies as the victim of the reckless endangerment charge.<\/p>\n
In a statement Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the FBI’s Baltimore field office said the bureau was aware of the charges and is fully cooperating with the investigation.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs is customary following a shooting incident, this matter will be subject to internal review,\u201d spokeswoman Joy Jiras said.<\/p>\n
The Metro Transit Police Department said in December that it had reviewed video footage and taken statements from Metro employees, passengers and others.<\/p>\n
In a 911 call released in January, a witness said the agent had warned the man to back away, but the man ignored the command and instead prepared to fight him, the Washington Post reported.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe FBI agent said: \u2018Move away. I\u2019m an FBI agent. Back away,\u2019\u2009\u201d the 911 caller said. \u201cThe other gentleman didn\u2019t, dropped his bag, approached him to fight him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The caller said the FBI agent was \u201cattacked\u201d by the other passenger but did not describe how.<\/p>\n
The Medical Center station serves the National Institutes of Health and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.<\/p>\n