PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — The Metro Transit Police Department (MTPD) arrested two teenagers who were armed with loaded semi-automatic rifles on Tuesday.

The teens — a 17-year-old and 18-year-old — were tampering with cars in a garage that’s attached to the Downtown Largo Metro station, according to MTPD.

Tuesday’s arrest happened at a tense time for the transit agency, with several recent high-profile incidents on buses and at train stations. Last Friday, a 19-year-old was shot and killed on a Metrobus in Montgomery County. And on Feb. 1, a longtime Metro employee was killed after intervening while a gunman was threatening a woman on the Potomac Ave station platform. His actions have been widely hailed as heroic.

MTPD crime statistics show there were 8 “weapon law violations” throughout the system in January 2023. In the same month, there were 34 cases of larceny and 33 robberies. The crime report encompasses incidents that happen at rail stations and bus stops, as well as on the buses and trains themselves.

In 2022, there were 94 weapon law violations on the transit system, which averages out to almost two every week.

Earlier this month, MTPD Chief Michael Anzallo said that patrols on buses and trains during the busiest times of the day have increased by 30 percent in recent months. Chief Anzallo gave that update on the same day Metro officials announced a new partnership with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) in D.C. to step up police presence inside five high-risk stations.

The Prince George’s County Police Department (PGPD) confirmed to DC News Now that they’re also working on a similar partnership with Metro. “PGPD is currently exploring the option of a special partnership with WMATA [Metro] to increase patrols,” the department said.