A San Francisco man was arrested Thursday on suspicion of trespassing in BART’s Transbay Tube and causing massive delays a night prior.
BART police announced the arrest of Jerry Howard just after 7 p.m. on the social media site X (formerly Twitter).
According to BART, Howard entered the Transbay Tube by pulling the emergency door release of a train moving through the railway that travels under the San Francisco Bay.
Our tube alarms were triggered and we halted train service while police searched the tube and reviewed the many surveillance cameras we have.
— BART (@SFBART) December 1, 2023
Once we confirmed via surveillance and search that he exited using an emergency pathway and was no longer in the tube, service resumed.
“Our tube alarms were triggered and we halted train service while police searched the tube and reviewed the many surveillance cameras we have,” BART tweeted. “Once we confirmed via surveillance and search that he exited using an emergency pathway and was no longer in the tube, service resumed.”
The disruption happened at about 4:45 p.m. and caused major delays in both directions as the tunnel between San Francisco and the East Bay was closed.
BART police shared an image of Howard on social media shortly after trains resumed operating to ask for help identifying the suspect.
BART Police is looking to identify this person who was trespassing in our trackway this evening.
— BART (@SFBART) November 30, 2023
Contact BART Police at 510-464-7040.
We are very sorry for the service disruption this individual caused and we are looking to hold them accountable. pic.twitter.com/AN7ODwE8Ec