(Courtesy of Metro Transit Police)

Update: ATU Local 689 issued a statement saying that the new plexiglass shields were poorly designed and failed to protect the driver, who suffered first degree burns.

Original:

Metro Transit Police are searching for a person who threw hot soup at a Metrobus driver. The bus driver was hospitalized for his injuries.

The incident took place on a 96 bus, near Union Station, early on Sunday morning, according to Transit Police.

Amid a rise in assaults on bus drivers (a 2015 report found they were up by 37 percent from the year prior), Metro’s newest buses feature Plexiglass shields, and all future orders will include them.

Anyone with information about Sunday’s assault is asked to contact Metro Transit Police by calling 301-955-5000 or or texting MyMTPD.