Metro Transit Police are searching for a man who repeatedly punched a Metrobus driver on the M54 route in Silver Spring on Saturday, Aug. 1, a line used by Bethesda and Chevy Chase commuters traveling through Montgomery County.

The assault happened on Route 29 near Woodmor Circle in the Four Corners area while the bus was moving, according to WTOP. The driver had told the masked rider he couldn't bring an open alcoholic beverage on board and asked him to step behind the yellow line. Video released by Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 shows the man pulling at a partial barrier around the driver's seat and punching him multiple times. Another passenger stepped in to stop the attack, and the suspect fled the bus.

The driver suffered non-life-threatening injuries. ATU Local 689 President Raymond Jackson told WJLA on Aug. 7 that the driver was experiencing neck and back pain but was doing okay overall.

"An 85 percent shield? What is that? … Those shields are a joke," Jackson told WJLA, referring to the partial barrier that failed to block the attack.

The bus had what WMATA calls an 85% shield, which does not fully enclose the operator's area. In a written statement released Aug. 7, WMATA said it is spending $17 million to outfit every bus with a fully enclosed shield. General Manager Randy Clarke said at an Aug. 5 press conference that roughly 450 buses already have full enclosures, with the rest at 85% protection. Clarke projected the entire fleet will be fully enclosed by May 2027 under an existing contract.

The union has pushed for full shields for at least a decade. Jackson also criticized Metro's spring 2026 policy requiring drivers to "quote the fare" to riders, which ATU Local 689 condemned in a May letter to Clarke, according to NBC Washington, arguing it puts operators in more confrontational situations.

Metro Transit Police issued a Be on the Lookout notice on Friday, Aug. 7, five days after the assault. The union criticized the delay; WMATA did not address it in its statement. As of Sunday, Aug. 9, no arrest had been made.

No suspect description beyond the mask seen in the video has been released.

Metro Transit Police asked anyone with information to call 202-962-2121 or text MyMTPD (696873).