An FBI agent who shot a man on a Red Line Metro train in Dec. 2020 has been charged with second-degree attempted murder following an investigation into the case, according to The Washington Post. The charges, filed in Montgomery County Circuit Court, also include first-degree assault, felony firearm use, and reckless endangerment.

The FBI agent has been identified as Eduardo Valdivia, 37, of Gaithersburg, Maryland. A judge in Montgomery County released him on personal bond, according to multiple news reports. He has been suspended without pay from his work at the FBI, according to his lawyer.

In December, Valdivia opened fire after a “verbal exchange” with another male passenger on a southbound train outside the Medical Center station on the Red Line. The victim, an unarmed adult man who officials identified as Steven Slaughter, “asked for or demanded money” from Valdivia, according to Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy. The two separated with a fist bump, but then Slaughter began swearing, which Valdivia objected to. In the second confrontation, Valdivia drew his weapon and fired.

Slaughter was hospitalized for treatment of his wounds, but survived. There were other passengers in the car during the shooting, which prompted the reckless endangerment charge, according to McCarthy.

“We’ve been looking at this, reviewing this matter, gathering information for five or six months,” McCarthy said. “We would not have brought the charge if we thought that it was protected by law.”

Audio of the 911 call from an eyewitness on the train, obtained by The Washington Post after a public records request, indicates that Slaughter approached Valdivia but did not touch him before Valdivia shot him with “two or three rounds,” according to the caller. Valdivia helped Slaughter off of the train after the shooting.

Robert Bonsib, Valdivia’s lawyer, defended the shooting as justified. In a press conference, Bonsib said Slaughter acted aggressively toward Valdivia, and he suggested that Slaughter could have gotten hold of Valdivia’s handgun if a physical struggle had taken place. He also cited Slaughter’s prior criminal record.

McCarthy said Slaughter’s criminal record wasn’t relevant to the case. “We were aware of him having had contacts before,” he said. “But the defendant didn’t know of any that when this happened.”

The FBI, Metro Transit Police, and Montgomery County State’s Attorney were all involved in the subsequent investigation, which has been criticized by some for lack of transparency. Some details of the shooting weren’t shared with the public until days later.

McCarthy defended the investigation in the press conference.

“We were trying to be thorough, we were trying to be fair, we were actually trying to gather background on the agent and background on Mr. Slaughter,” McCarthy said. “Sometimes getting hold of that information took time some time.”

A scheduling hearing in the case is set for June 11.

The Valdivia case is one of two recent cases in which federal law enforcement officers shot civilians in Montgomery County. In April, David Dixon, an off-duty Pentagon Police officer, shot and killed two Black men in an apartment parking lot in Takoma Park. Dixon has been charged with second degree murder. He has since said he was acting in self defense.

This post has been updated with information from court proceedings and a press conference.