Suspect arrested after 4 people shot in subway near Chicago – Boston News, Weather, Sports

(CNN) — Four people who were apparently sleeping on a Chicago commuter train were fatally shot Monday morning, police said.

“The victims were all passengers on the early morning train,” said Forest Park Deputy Chief Chris Chin. “The train was in motion en route to Forest Park.”

Chin told CNN the victims may have been left without a roof over their heads.

“We don’t know for sure what their social status is. Judging by the footage, they were sleeping on the train,” Chin said.

A suspect has been arrested in the mass shooting. Police believe it was an isolated incident and a random attack.

Investigators are working with the Chicago Transit Authority to review surveillance footage of the shooting, which police say occurred in two train cars: three in one car and a fourth in the other.

Police said surveillance footage helped identify the suspect, who was arrested about an hour and a half after the shooting.

“CTA has great cameras. Their surveillance cameras are excellent,” Chin said.

Chin said three agencies — Forest Park police, Chicago police and the CTA — worked together to track down and capture the suspect.

Chin told CNN the suspect is believed to have gotten off the train at the Harlem stop on the CTA Blue Line. He eventually boarded the Pink Line, where he was detained by police. Law enforcement also recovered a firearm.

“I was able to watch some of the videos and it looks like they were able to track, locate and then identify or at least be able to pinpoint… OK, this is who Forest Park is looking for. And Chicago was able to catch him and we were able to step in and take him into custody.”

“While this was an isolated incident, this abhorrent and outrageous act of violence should never have occurred, much less on a public transport train,” the public transport authority said in a statement.

While investigators continue to review evidence, prosecutors will have 48 hours from the time of arrest to charge the suspect.

“It’s obviously shocking, you know, it’s rare for a mass shooting to happen,” Chin said. “It’s an isolated incident, so it could happen anywhere. Of course, there’s a little bit more concern because it’s on a mass transit system,” he added. “It’s reasonable for people to feel unsafe.”

The CTA Blue Line stretches 27 miles (43 km) between O’Hare International Airport and Forest Park, passing through or near dozens of neighborhoods and downtown Chicago.

Forest Park Mayor Rory Hoskins said during a news conference that police and fire departments respond to the same area of ​​Forest Park “probably more than any other location in our jurisdiction,” calling on the state for additional public safety resources and law enforcement personnel.

He added that he has previously traveled to Springfield to advocate for more funding to combat opioid addiction and mental health issues.

The mayor called the shooting an “exception,” saying the city had never experienced a shooting like this before.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, which like CNN defines a mass shooting as one in which four or more people are killed, not including the shooter, there have been 377 mass shootings in the United States this year. In 2024, the U.S. will average 1.5 mass shootings per day.

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