WASHINGTON (DC News Now) –Family and friends are mourning the loss of a Metro worker, killed on the job Wednesday.
Police said 64-year-old Robert Cunningham was shot and killed at the Potomac Avenue Station yesterday morning.
According to officials, a gunman, who has now been identified as Isaiah Trotman, went on a shooting rampage that started on a Metro bus and ended at the station. Trotman allegedly shot and injured three people. He then allegedly shot and killed Cunningham, who tried to intervene and help the third surviving victim.
“I was shocked, I was very shocked because it seemed so brutal. What I didn’t understand was how many people were there with him and this man shot several people in the leg but chose to kill Bob,” said Mary Whalen.
Whalen was a neighbor to Cunningham for more than 30 years on Silver Spring Street.
“[He was] a good neighbor, a caring person. Loved his family. He was just really proud of his family and everything they accomplished. I just can’t believe I won’t see him pull up in his truck and get out of it,” she said.
Officials, including Metro leadership, have hailed Cunningham as a hero.
Whalen agreed.
“I think if you really needed something, he’d be there for you. And that’s what he did yesterday, he put his life on the line and he didn’t have to do that. That’s heroic to me,” she said.
Cunningham leaves behind a wife and four children.
Metro started an online fund to raise money to help support the family. As of Thursday, Feb. 2, there was more than $64,000 in the fund.