A 51-year-old CTA employee was shot multiple times Tuesday night in a drive-by incident in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago. The shooting happened shortly before 9:15 p.m. on the 7500 block of North Paulina Street, as stated by Chicago police, and was reported by The Chicago Tribune.
According to ABC7 Chicago, the victim was outside the Howard station when someone inside a white SUV opened fire. The CTA worker, who performs rail operations as a switch worker, sustained a chest wound during the assault and was taken in serious condition to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston. No suspect has been apprehended in relation to the shooting as the shooter and the vehicle used in the crime fled the scene immediately after the incident.
In response to the violence, CTA President Dorval Carter released a statement highlighting the increasing toll of gun violence on public transit workers. "We are both saddened, and also in disbelief that we are once again having to address the topic of gun violence and public transit," Carter stated. The CTA is reportedly offering support services to employees affected by the traumatizing event and is aiding law enforcement by providing security camera footage to assist with the investigation.
Area Three detectives are on the case, trying to piece together the circumstances that led to the shooting of an on-duty transit employee. Carter's statement, relayed by ABC7 Chicago, emphasized the organization's intent to "hold those responsible to the fullest extent of law." As the investigation continues, transit authorities and local law enforcement urge witnesses or those with information to come forward to aid in the capture and prosecution of the perpetrator responsible for the violence inflicted on a member of the city's transit family.
