BART seeks to arrest train holdup suspects

BART has identified some of the estimated 40 to 60 juveniles suspected of swarming a train and robbing riders at an Oakland station and is working to obtain warrants for their arrest, agency officials said Wednesday.

Detectives narrowed in on the suspects in Saturday’s extraordinary crime thanks to surveillance video captured at Coliseum Station — where the train was stopped when it was mobbed — and aboard the train itself, officials said.

The transit agency did not say how many alleged robbers have been identified, nor did it release the names or ages of the suspects. Some of the suspects, officials said, were recognizable to BART police from prior incidents.

Officials said they’re working with the courts and local police departments to obtain arrest warrants and bring some individuals into custody, while trying to strengthen cases against the suspects.

“We know who they are,” said BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost. “We’ve identified them, but we still have to work with the witnesses.”

Trost said the agency had “high-quality digital footage” of the alleged robbers. She said six of the train’s nine cars had working cameras.

According to BART, the juveniles hurdled fare gates and rushed onto a train on the second-story platform of Coliseum Station at about 9:30 p.m. Saturday. The group allegedly forced passengers in at least two cars to hand over phones and other valuables, and at least two riders were injured.

BART said it has increased patrols in response to the incident and has asked neighboring police departments to boost their presence near stations.

On Tuesday night, after four juveniles were spotted jumping the fare gates at Lake Merritt Station in Oakland, a train operator was directed to pass through the station without stopping, BART officials said. Trost said it was unclear whether the group, which was headed for the platform, intended to rob patrons.

“That is a protocol that we’ll use when it warrants it,” she said.