Suspect in connection of Metrobus shooting ordered held without bond

WASHINGTON - A man wanted in connection with a shooting on a Metrobus in Southeast D.C. in August has been ordered held without bond after appearing in court on Thursday.

Bijon Brown was arrested Wednesday and charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and assault with a dangerous weapon in this shooting case.

Brown is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing on Sept. 25.

The suspect had been in the wind since the August 21st shooting that wounded 21-year-old Earl Coates.

Brown was arrested at a house on 9th Street in Southeast D.C. where Coates lives. According to a Metro spokesperson, he was hiding in a closet.

According to several affidavits filed in court, Brown and Coates were on the bus together that night when the vehicle was suddenly disabled from the outside.

The documents say a camera inside the bus captured Brown walking toward the front door with what appeared to be a handgun and firing several times at somebody outside the bus. There was an exchange of gunfire and that is how Coates was ultimately hit.

According to these documents, police did speak with Brown since his arrest on Wednesday and he has admitted to being on the bus and admitted to having a gun and firing that weapon.

Brown had been previously convicted of another shooting in the same neighborhood and spent about four months in prison before being released on probation. He was wearing a GPS monitoring bracelet at the time of the August shooting.