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Off-duty FBI agent fatally shoots man during fight at crowded D.C. transit station, police say

Celal Gunes

An off-duty FBI agent fatally shot a man after a dispute inside a bustling Washington, D.C., transit station Wednesday evening, police said.

The agent was at the Metro Center rail station when he got into an altercation with the suspect, identified as Troy Bullock, 28, of Southeast Washington, just after 6:20 p.m., police said.

Ashan Benedict, the executive assistant chief of police for the Metropolitan Police Department, said at a news conference that Bullock “pushed” the agent backward and they both fell down an 8-foot drop over a side wall, located away from the train tracks at the end of the platform, where they continued to struggle.

“Both of the individuals go off the side of the wall, and that struggle continues. Shots end up being fired during that struggle,” Benedict said.

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The off-duty veteran FBI special agent was the one who opened fire, and Bullock was pronounced dead, Benedict said.

The FBI agent was taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

It’s not clear what precipitated the argument.

Asked whether if the agent started the altercation, Benedict said, “Doesn’t appear so; he appears to be the victim.”

Police initially said Wednesday night that they didn't recover another firearm, but in a statement Thursday, they said a handgun was recovered from the suspect.

Police said that there is no threat to the train system and that they will investigate with help from the FBI.

The sound of gunfire caused a scare at the station during the busy rush hour.

Lisa Crawford said that her train pulled into Metro Center and that what she saw was "like a zombie movie," she told NBC Washington.

“People were running for their lives,” she said.

Crawford said she yelled: “Everybody get down! Active shooter!" The train operator told passengers to exit.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com