Lawyer: Man involved in train murder shot dead in self-defense

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A man who shot and killed a passenger on a San Francisco subway commuter train will be charged with crimes committed with a firearm but not homicide in what was « clearly » a case of self-defense after being attacked with a knife, his lawyer said on Monday.

Javon Green, 26, will be charged with having a concealed weapon in a public place and having a loaded weapon in a public place, two crimes that could eventually be reduced to misdemeanors, attorney Randy Knox told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Green was scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.

The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office declined to comment to the newspaper on Monday. Messages from The Associated Press seeking comment were not immediately returned.

Green shot Nesta Bowen, 27, last Wednesday on a Muni train, her lawyer said.

Knox told the newspaper his client was a security guard who carried a gun for protection because he was shot twice and twice tried to walk away from a man in the train that would be Bowen.

The man was seated next to Green. According to his client’s account, the man was mumbling and saying ‘aggressive things’ to Green, who got up and walked away from him, but the man followed him and pulled a knife out of his pants , Knox said.

According to Knox, Green said to him, « ‘what are you going to do, stab me?' »

« And that’s when he started running away, » Knox said. « It’s a clear case of self-defense. »

Surveillance footage obtained by the Chronicle appeared to show the man pulling something out of his pocket and charging at Green, swinging himself in the face with his fist and what appears to be a knife, according to the newspaper.

Green backs up but as they approach the end of the wagon, Green shoots the man, the newspaper said.

According to the police, the gunman fled when the train stopped in the neighborhood of Castro. Green was arrested the next day in the city of Pittsburgh in the San Francisco Bay Area.

A 70-year-old passenger on the train was injured and received non-life-threatening injuries. Knox said Green apologized to the man and other passengers on the train.

The Associated Press

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