The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has launched a comprehensive review of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority's (MARTA) safety and security plans, following the horrific stabbing death of a 66-year-old woman on a MARTA train.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that the FTA is scrutinizing MARTA's security spending and safety protocols, as well as risks to riders and workers, after the unprovoked killing of Margaret Swan on May 30.
Duffy noted that while MARTA initially met the government's deadline for a response and assured the administration that they are taking action, the FTA "won't stop there" in its review.
The intense federal review into MARTA was launched after Swan was stabbed approximately 18 to 20 times in the neck and chest as she screamed and attempted to defend herself on a northbound train near the Oakland City Station.
Swan's attacker, 25-year-old John Elijah Matthews, is facing a local felony murder charge and has been federally charged with committing an act of violence using a dangerous weapon with intent to cause death on a mass transportation system.
If convicted, Matthews could face life in prison or the death penalty, a determination that will be made by a judge.
The FTA's audit aims to examine if MARTA has properly implemented its safety plans to protect passengers and how it has allocated federal funds intended for security improvements.
The review comes after Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that the rates of assaults, robberies, and rapes on MARTA's trains are "MORE THAN THREE TIMES the national average."
Matthews allegedly threw Swan to the floor before exiting the train at the Oakland City Station, where MARTA police arrested him holding a bloody knife.
