Fired transit worker claims Va. Tech bias

ERIE, Pa. (AP) — A fired Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority worker claims in a lawsuit that he was wrongly prosecuted and fired for allegedly threatening to shoot up his workplace in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shooting massacre in 2007.

Augustus Allen III was fired and charged with making the threats on April 26, 2007, though an Erie County judge later dismissed the charges for lack of evidence. A gunman had killed 32 people and wounded several others at Virginia Tech 10 days before, and Allen claims authorities and his employer rushed to judgment as a result.

Transit officials did not immediately return calls for comment Tuesday. District Attorney Jack Daneri declined comment on the suit, which also targets the estate of his predecessor, Brad Foulk, who died in August.