Unsealed records from a Maryland circuit court detail that Eduardo Valdivia, a 37-year-old FBI agent, has been slapped with an attempted murder charge, in association with the December shooting that left a man wounded.
Charges leveled against the FBI agent include attempted second-degree murder; first-degree assault; reckless endangerment; and felony use of a firearm to commit a violent crime.
FBI AGENT CHARGED W/ ATTEMPTED MURDER: Eduardo Valdivia of Gaithersburg is now charged w/ shooting a man on a Metro train last Dec, per court records now unsealed. Valdivia's laywer provided this pic. He says Valdivia's been w/ the FBI for 10 yrs & investigates violent extremism pic.twitter.com/90BeyFUL9g
— Aimee Cho (@AimeeCho4) June 1, 2021
Emergency call records from a witness were released in January, and have been used to piece together details of the incident, which occurred on a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) train car.
"The FBI agent said: 'Move away. I’m an FBI agent. Back away,'" the 911 caller said. "The other gentleman didn't, dropped his bag, [and] approached him to fight him."
Soon after, Valdivia fired "two or three" rounds as the train was en route to the Medical Center Metro Station.
According to the caller, the agent was "attacked," but the witness did not provide further details to indicate whether the man physically attacked Valdivia.
Robert Bonsib, Valdivia's attorney, claimed in a Tuesday statement to the Associated Press that the agent was approached by "a man who threatened his personal safety, and he acted reasonably in order to prevent himself from being killed."
Bonsib also emphasized that, for decades, Valdivia "has served his community in some very dangerous and sensitive assignments."
The FBI's field office in Baltimore, Maryland, has confirmed knowledge of the charges.
"As is customary following a shooting incident, this matter will be subject to internal review," spokesperson Joy Jiras said.
