Ricardo Rush, 29, of Washington, D.C., has been sentenced to five years in prison following an incident on a Metrobus in March 2025. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, Rush threatened a family with an Uzi-style semi-automatic pistol while riding a WMATA bus.
Rush pleaded guilty on June 17 before Judge Amir H. Ali to unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon, assault with a dangerous weapon, and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence or dangerous offense. In addition to the prison term, he will serve three years of supervised release.
Court documents state that Rush boarded the bus around 11:26 a.m. on March 8, 2025. A few minutes later, two adults with two young children boarded as well and sat in front of him. Rush began harassing them and then stood up and pointed his pistol at one of the adults. “Bitch, sit down, this isn’t a toy,” he said as he pointed the gun at the woman’s face.
The bus stopped as Rush continued to threaten the family. He waved his gun and said he would kill all four members of the family. After stepping off the bus briefly—again pointing his weapon at one adult—he reboarded and threatened them further while holding the firearm. He also head-butted one man before leaving.
Law enforcement located Rush at his residence about one month later on April 10, 2025. Officers recovered a loaded MasterPiece Arms Defender semi-automatic handgun with an additional high-capacity magazine and another magazine holding more rounds.
Rush was previously convicted in 2021 for assault with a dangerous weapon and was legally barred from possessing firearms due to his felony status.
The case was investigated by WMATA and Metropolitan Police Department officers and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared English along with Special Assistant Haley Pennington.
