Man In 2nd Attack On MARTA Train Federally Charged After Shooting

ATLANTA, GA — A Lithia Springs man is facing federal charges after a shooting injured a 17-year-old boy aboard a MARTA train recently, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.

The shooting took place around 7 p.m. Friday at MARTA's Midtown station. Anthony Gresham, 42, faces three federal charges in connection with the incident, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office Northern District of Georgia.

Gresham was accused of boarding the train where the boy was sitting, pulling out a handgun from his bag and shooting three times in the boy's direction. The boy, who suffered gunshot wounds to his left hand and left leg, was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, federal prosecutors said.

Gresham fled from the train, prosecutors said, but authorities arrested him two days later in Douglasville.

Members of a FBI task force saw Gresham walking along Lee Road around 10 a.m. Sunday, police said.

RELATED: MARTA Midtown Shooting Suspect Arrested In Dayslong Manhunt

A Douglas County deputy approached Gresham, who ran into the woods, police said.

Authorities set up a perimeter, and Georgia State Patrol task force members arrived and requested the department's Aviation Unit, police said. Douglas County K9 units were also requested.

Gresham was "flushed out of the woods" and returned to Lee, where he was arrested, police said.

He was not able to lawfully have a gun or ammunition due to an extensive criminal history that includes convictions of armed robbery, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and robbery by force, prosecutors said.

Gresham on Monday was federally charged with intent to cause serious bodily injury on a mass transportation system, possession of ammunition by a convicted felon and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, prosecutors said. He is set to appear in federal court at a later date.

“Violence will not be tolerated on Marta,” Marlo Graham, special agent in charge of FBI Atlanta, said in a news release. “The citizens of metro Atlanta and our visitors deserve a safe and secure transportation system. This is a great example of the collaborative work of law enforcement to protect everyone’s right to safety.”

Gresham is the second man federally charged in a week in connection with attacks on MARTA trains.

RELATED: Feds Investigate MARTA After GA Woman Fatally Stabbed 20 Times

Atlanta woman Margaret Swan was fatally stabbed nearly two dozen times while riding the train on May 30.

Swan was heading from Lakewood to Oakland City when she was killed, justice officials previously said.

Video surveillance captured her sitting near the train's door while looking at her phone, and with 25-year-old Decatur resident John Elijah Matthews standing next to her, federal prosecutors said.

Around 11:30 a.m., they said footage showed Matthews pull out a folding knife from his pocket and stab Swan about 20 times in the chest and neck.

Swan tried to defend herself, and other passengers fled the scene for safety and assistance, prosecutors said.

At least one of the passengers reported Swan not having interaction with Matthews before being attacked, prosecutors said.

The train stopped at the Oakland City station, and MARTA Police quickly arrested Matthews. He had a "bloody folding knife consistent with the knife seen in the surveillance footage and had blood on his clothes," prosecutors said.

Though first responders tried to render emergency medical aid to Swan, she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Matthews has been federally charged with committing an act of violence using a dangerous weapon with the intent to cause death on a mass transportation system, prosecutors said.

Fulton County Jail records on Wednesday showed Matthews was arrested on murder and first-degree cruelty to children charges.

If convicted, Matthews faces the possibility of life in prison or the death penalty, prosecutors said. The decision to seek the death penalty rests with the U.S. Attorney General's Office.