A college intern was robbed at gunpoint on the Metropolitan Branch Trail (MBT) Friday morning, the latest in a number of attacks in recent months along the 8-mile route between Union Station and Silver Spring.

WUSA9 reported that the incident took place on the Rhode Island Avenue bike trail, which your editors found confusing, but a Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson said the attack occurred on the MBT.

“This needs to be a wake up call. Really you’re putting everybody in harm’s way if you do not get security here. There are people jogging on this bike trail,” said Darrion Gates, who works nearby.

DCist has chronicled the difficulties the Metropolitan Police Department has had in fighting crime along the trail, and much vigorous debate has ensued on this blog about the gravity of the attacks and the resources needed to keep the trail safe.

Problems along the MBT — and challenges for D.C. police responding to criminal activity on it — are not new. A year ago, David Alpert at Greater Greater Washington reported that after a cyclist called 911 to report an attack along the trail, the dispatcher couldn’t enter the incident into the database because the trail wasn’t a “street.” Alpert posted again about this issue in June after a group of kids tried to tase someone, and a man in the area who saw the kids the next day had trouble getting the dispatcher to recognize the trail as “a valid location.”

The attacks in recent months — ranging from beatings to robberies to tasing — have catalyzed community activists, and the D.C. Guardian Angels have gotten involved. The Washington Post reported earlier this month that D.C. Police have stepped up patrols on certain sections of the trail.

Still, many residents would like to see more done to keep the trail safe, and people in the community near where the most recent attack occurred would like around-the-clock security.