4 people killed on Chicago subway shot while sleeping, say police
The fourth person was transported to the Loyola University Medical Centre where they died from their injuries, police wrote in a press release. The identities of the victims have not been released.
Four people were fatally shot on a Chicago commuter train on Labour Day morning while they appeared to be asleep, according to police. A suspect was apprehended shortly after the incident.
The Forest Park Police Department, serving a suburb of Chicago, received a 911 call just before 5:30 a.m. on Monday, reporting that three individuals had been shot on a subway train at Forest Park Station on the Blue Line. Officers arrived at the scene to find three people already deceased and a fourth person suffering from gunshot wounds.
The injured individual was transported to Loyola University Medical Center, where they later succumbed to their injuries. The victims' identities have not yet been released.
During a press conference, Forest Park Deputy Chief Chris Chin described the shooting as “shocking” and “horrible,” noting that the victims may have been homeless and appeared to be sleeping when they were attacked.
"We don’t know for sure what their social status is, but from the videos, they were asleep on the train,” Chin told CNN.
After the attack, the shooter fled the scene. However, police, in collaboration with the Chicago Transit Authority, reviewed surveillance footage and obtained a description of the suspect. The Chicago Police Department located the suspect on a different train line, the Pink Line, about an hour and a half later.
The suspect was taken into custody, and a firearm was recovered.
Forest Park Police detectives, with assistance from the West Suburban Major Crimes Task Force, are continuing to investigate the incident, which they believe to be "an isolated incident with no immediate threat to the community."
The Chicago Transit Authority condemned the shooting as a “heinous and egregious act of violence that should never have occurred, especially on public transit.”
Forest Park Mayor Rory Hoskins expressed his sorrow over the tragedy, noting that his community of 14,000 is the only Chicago suburb in Cook County where two major train lines end.
“It’s a horrible tragedy that four people are dead on Labour Day weekend,” Hoskins said. “Our police and fire departments respond to this location more frequently than any other in our jurisdiction.”
Sean McNulty, a regular commuter, had to take a bus on Monday due to service disruptions related to the shooting. He remarked that criminal activity is sometimes a reality on the train.
“You just kind of get used to it,” McNulty told the Chicago Tribune. “I keep my eyes open because I want to know what’s going on around me at all times.”
