Thierno Barry, a 23-year-old resident of Queens, New York, has pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to charges related to a swatting incident and a carjacking that took place in Washington, D.C., in March 2025. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Barry admitted guilt to one count each of carjacking, interstate transport of a stolen vehicle, and making false alarms and reports before Judge Reggie B. Walton.
Court documents indicate that the events began around midnight on March 31, 2025. Virginia State Police were pursuing Barry when he entered the District of Columbia and abandoned his vehicle in an alley behind the 4300 block of Reno Road NW. Metropolitan Police Department officers responded at 12:21 a.m., recovered the vehicle, but could not locate Barry.
At approximately 1:30 a.m., Barry called 911 and falsely reported that his ex-husband had shot his wife at an address on Brandywine Street NW. According to authorities, “At the time Barry made the report, he knew that it was false.” MPD officers went to the scene and found the residents asleep; no shooting had occurred.
Barry stayed in the area until about 2:30 a.m., then took a bus to Union Station. At 3:37 a.m., he approached an elderly couple—an 88-year-old man and an 87-year-old woman—in their Buick sedan parked outside Union Station.
Barry opened the driver’s side door after reaching through an open window and repeatedly ordered them out of the car while threatening violence: “Get out of the car! If you don’t, I’m gonna kill you.” He claimed to have a gun and kept his hand inside his sweatshirt pocket as if holding a weapon.
The couple explained they were en route to the hospital but Barry persisted with threats. He physically pulled the male driver from the car and threw him to the ground before entering the vehicle himself. The woman exited as well. With both doors still open and one victim on the ground, Barry drove away toward Greenbelt, Maryland; speed cameras recorded images of him during this time. He stopped only after getting a flat tire.
Greenbelt Police apprehended Barry at that location. He initially provided police with an alias.
Multiple agencies participated in investigating this case including MPD, FBI Washington Field Office, and Greenbelt Police Department. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan M. Horan is prosecuting for the U.S. Attorney’s Office with support from United States Capitol Police.
