Guilty Plea For Metro Stabbing Leads To Prison Time For DC Man: Court

WASHINGTON, DC — A 43-year-old Washington, D.C. man was sentenced in federal court on Friday after he admitted to stabbing a woman multiple times on a Metro train last September.

Judge Maribeth Raffinan sentenced Michael Harrington to 84 months in prison for the Sept. 3, 2023 attack on a Metro train. Raffinan also ordered him to serve three years of supervised relief and pay $100 to the Superior Court’s Crime Victims Compensation Fund.

On March 5, Harrington pleaded guilty to assault with intent to kill in, after being shown evidence of his drug and mental health issues, according to court documents. Acknowledging that the government could prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt based on the evidence it had gathered, Harrington was allowed to enter an Alford. Despite this, he said he did not remember the facts that led up to his arrest in Arlington.

On the evening of Sept. 3, 2023, Harrington attack a woman without provocation inside a Metro train approaching the Navy Yard-Ball Park Station. He stabbed the woman repeatedly in the head and body, saying that he would kill her, according to court documents. Harrington then left the train and victim, who was bleeding from the stab wounds.

When police arrived on the scene, they began administering life-saving steps to stop the woman from bleeding. They continued these efforts until she was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition, according to court documents. Despite having 12 stab wounds to her head, hip, foot, hands and leg, the victim survived the attack.

Later in the evening, police arrested Harrington after he set off a fire alarm in an Arlington apartment building. He was seen wielding a knife with what appeared to be dried blood on it, according to court documents. When tested, the blood matched that of the victim. Once in police custody, Harrington admitted to having a dispute with someone on the Metro earlier in the day.