4 sleeping passengers fatally shot on train, mayor of Chicago suburb says; suspect arrested; gun recovered



Four sleeping passengers aboard a Chicago Transit Authority train were fatally shot Monday morning, according to the mayor of Forest Park, a Chicago suburb.

CTA workers discovered the shooting victims around 5:30 a.m., WLS-TV reported, adding that Forest Park police said they received a 911 call about the shooting. Three victims were pronounced dead at the scene, and a fourth died at Loyola University Medical Center, the station said.

'It's a Monday morning on a holiday. Everyone is supposed to enjoying their time off, time with their families; it's Labor Day. ...'

Forest Park Mayor Rory Hoskins told WLS the victims, all adults, were sleeping at the time they were shot.

"These victims likely never saw it coming," Hoskins added to the station. "They were executed on Labor Day. In our community, people go to the pool. They go to the park. You know, they barbecue. But today a lot of people were calling the mayor's office, expressing concern and asking if they were safe."

Police told WLS the shooter fled the scene, but officers took a suspect into custody within 90 minutes and recovered the gun allegedly used in the shooting.

"We believe he got off at the Forest Park stop, and he was apprehended at a Pink Line station in Chicago somewhere, so he may have gotten on a train going the opposite direction," Hoskins added to the station.

Police told WLS the shooting occurred on two train cars.

"I mean, it's a horrible situation," Forest Park Police Deputy Chief Christopher Chin added to the station. "It is definitely something you don't want to wake up to. It's a Monday morning on a holiday. Everyone is supposed to enjoying their time off, time with their families; it's Labor Day."

Forest Park police and the West Suburban Major Crimes Task Force are investigating the shooting, WLS said, adding that police said it appears to be an isolated incident, and there is no ongoing threat to the public.

Neither the shooting suspect nor the shooting victims have been identified, the station said.

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Video: Mob of thugs descend upon apparent Chicago bus driver, tackle him to street, repeatedly punch and stomp him



Video circulating on social media shows what appears to be a Chicago Transit Authority bus driver getting swarmed by a mob of thugs, tackled to the street, and repeatedly punched and stomped over the weekend in the popular downtown shopping area known as the Loop.

What are the details?

The clip shows the apparent driver standing outside a bus and facing one individual as a crowd gathers around them. One person is heard telling the driver he'd "better get back on that bus!"

Image source: Twitter video screenshot via @Paulvallas

Suddenly the apparent driver seems to push with his left hand the individual facing him, and that individual appears to move away. Second later screams are heard and a fight breaks out.

The apparent driver has the upper hand at first, grabbing and pushing one male backward for a considerable distance.

Image source: Twitter video screenshot via @Paulvallas

Image source: Twitter video screenshot via @Paulvallas

But at that point a mob descends upon the apparent driver, and he has no chance as thugs tackle and then beat him.

Image source: Twitter video screenshot via @Paulvallas

Image source: Twitter video screenshot via @Paulvallas

At the end of the clip, a police officer appears and seems to be moving toward the attack.

Image source: Twitter video screenshot via @Paulvallas

Here's the clip:

This is video of the poor CTA bus driver that was beaten last night downtown. This is SO disgusting that this is happening in Chi. @TheMagMile @ChiefDavidBrown @MaryAnnAhernNBC @AnitaPadilla32 @FoxNews @CWBChicago @WGNNews @ABC7Chicago @cbschicago @ChiCityBusiness @AmyJacobsonpic.twitter.com/EANvAwkwxF
— Paul Vallas (@Paul Vallas) 1638727702

What else do we know?

Chicago police said a 49-year-old CTA bus driver was traveling in the Loop around 9 p.m. Saturday when he heard a loud noise, WFLD-TV reported, after which the driver stopped the bus to inspect it.

While the driver was doing this, police told the station a male and female began to push the driver and then punched the driver multiple times before fleeing.

Police told WFLD the driver's face and body were bruised, and he was taken to a hospital in fair condition. The station's report does not include the video circulating on social media.

A 15-year-old male identified as a suspect in the attack was arrested in the 100 block of North Michigan Avenue and charged with one count of aggravated battery to a transit employee and disorderly conduct, police added to the station.

Fox News said police did not confirm that the video circulating on social media shows the attack on the 49-year-old bus driver. Police instead directed the cable news network to the "initial narrative" that two suspects were involved and added that the department "[does] not have any additional information," Fox News noted.

While the report on the attack from WBBM-TV doesn't include the video circulating on social media, either, it does show what appears to be a bus driver holding a cloth or towel on the side of his face and walking into an ambulance — and the victim looks similar to the apparent driver the mob attacked in the cellphone video.

Anything else?

Police told WGN-TV at least 20 juveniles were taken into custody Saturday night amid violent chaos in the Loop that forced authorities to use crowd control measures. In addition to the attack on the bus driver, a 15-year-old was shot in the arm after bumping into a man, the station said.

The next day Mayor Lori Lightfoot was asked how she plans to curb violence in the Loop moving forward, WGN said.

“We are going to take significant, swift action to quell any issues,” Lightfoot replied, according to the station. “[Saturday night] there were a large number of children that were down at Millennium Park. We followed the protocols that we put in place from the summer of 2020. When it was time for them to leave the park, we made sure they left the park without incident.”

Here's more of what Lightfoot said:

I asked @chicagosmayor about this. Thanks to @CWBChicago for the information. \n@MorningAnswer @DanProft https://twitter.com/paulvallas/status/1467556467716808709\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/oxcIXOkJAA
— Amy Jacobson (@Amy Jacobson) 1638741271