Thierno Barry, 23, of Queens, New York, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to the March 2025 swatting of a random Northwest residence and a subsequent carjacking of an elderly couple the same day at Union Station.
Barry pleaded guilty to one count of carjacking, to one count of interstate transport of a stolen vehicle, and to making false alarms and reports before Judge Reggie B. Walton.
According to court documents filed by the Government, at about midnight on March 31, 2025, Barry was being pursued by Virginia State Police when he drove into the District. Barry abandoned the vehicle he was driving in an alley behind the 4300 block of Reno Road, NW. Metropolitan Police officers responded to the area at 12:21 a.m., recovered the vehicle, but were unable to locate Barry.
At 1:30 a.m., Barry called 911 and falsely reported to the operator that his ex-husband had shot his wife in the face and chest. He indicated that the shooter had driven away. Barry provided an address on Brandywine Street NW where he claimed the shooting had occurred. At the time Barry made the report, he knew that it was false.
MPD responded to the address of the reported shooting and made contact with the residents of the house, who were asleep when MPD arrived.
Barry remained in the area until 2:30 a.m., then traveled by bus to Union Station. At 3:37 a.m., Barry approached a Buick sedan occupied by an 88-year-old man and an 87-year-old woman who had been stopped directly in front of the station.
Barry approached the driver’s side, then reached into the open window and opened the driver’s side door. Barry ordered the couple out of the car repeatedly, stating “Get out of the car! If you don’t, I’m gonna kill you.” Barry told the victims that he had a gun and held his hand in the pocket of his sweatshirt to imitate a firearm.
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The victims told Barry that they could not give him the car because they were on their way to the hospital, but Barry continued to threaten them and demand the car.
With the driver’s door still opened, Barry grabbed hold of the driver’s upper body, physically wrenched him out of the vehicle, and threw him to the ground. Barry stepped over the man and climbed into the driver’s seat. The woman passenger got out of the car. With the doors still open and the man still on the ground, Barry drove away, eventually reaching a gas station in Greenbelt, Maryland. During that drive, images of the car were captured by a speed camera. Barry only stopped driving after the car suffered a flat tire.
The Greenbelt Police Department apprehended Barry, who initially identified himself with the alias “Usaman Barrie.”
This case was investigated by the MPD, the FBI Washington Field Office, and the Greenbelt Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan M. Horan, who is detailed to the U.S. Attorney’s Office from the United States Capitol Police.
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