A Chicago Public Schools teacher was stabbed five times in what investigators describe as an apparently random attack while riding a CTA bus home from work on September 10, then watched his attacker allegedly flee, steal a car and crash it blocks away. A Cook County judge has now ordered the accused attacker held without bail as the case moves toward trial.
According to CWB Chicago, the 50-year-old teacher, identified by the outlet through his online profile, boarded an eastbound No. 77 Belmont bus at Oketo Avenue to head home from work that day. About 20 minutes later, 32-year-old Jeromeyo Gibson allegedly climbed aboard the back of the bus without paying the fare, carrying a duffle bag. Around 4:55 p.m., near Belmont and Milwaukee avenues, Gibson allegedly attacked the teacher without warning, stabbing him twice in the neck and three times in his upper back. The stabbing was captured on CTA video, the outlet reports.
Carjacking and Crash Followed the Attack
After the stabbing, Gibson allegedly fled south on Milwaukee Avenue, where he came across a red Chevrolet Malibu parked in the 3000 block with its engine running and doors unlocked. The report states he climbed into the driver's seat and drove off, pulling the vehicle's 44-year-old owner to the ground in the process. Gibson then continued south to the 3000 block of North Milwaukee Avenue before the stolen Malibu ended up in the 3300 block of West Wrightwood Avenue, where he allegedly drove into oncoming traffic, sideswiped another vehicle and caused the car to spin out.
Officers learned of the crash about 15 minutes after the car theft was reported, per the same account, and found Gibson roughly four blocks away carrying the same duffle bag — this time found to contain a 6-inch kitchen knife. He now faces charges of attempted murder, possessing a stolen motor vehicle, attempting to disarm a peace officer and other felonies, the outlet notes.
Judge Orders Detention Citing Criminal History
Judge Ankur Srivastava granted the state's request to keep Gibson detained pending trial, according to the report. Court records cited by the outlet show Gibson has multiple felony convictions from 2022 for aggravated battery of peace officers and escape by a felon, along with a 2019 burglary conviction — a history prosecutors pointed to in arguing he should remain in custody.
The attack adds to a pattern of high-profile violence aboard CTA buses this year. In May, a knife-wielding man commandeered a No. 53 Pulaski bus in Logan Square around 2:40 a.m., forcing the 57-year-old driver to steer nearly six miles off route before she escaped through a window, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. No passengers were hurt in that incident, and the suspect was later arrested on West Chestnut Street.
A System Still Working Through an Assault Problem
The stabbing also lands against a backdrop of data showing CTA riders have faced disproportionate violence compared with other major transit systems. The Chicago Tribune found that in 2024, the CTA reported 20.7 passenger assaults per 100 million passenger miles, while peer agencies ranged from 4 to 9.5 — a gap the paper calculated at up to five times higher than comparable systems. Worker-assault rates told a similar story, with the CTA logging 6.9 per 100 million passenger miles compared with 1.0 to 3.5 elsewhere.
That same analysis found most comparable transit systems saw assault rates decline as ridership recovered from the pandemic, while Chicago's rate kept climbing through 2024. Reports of passenger assaults did begin dropping in 2025, though the Tribune noted complete comparable rates for that year were not yet available. CTA officials have pointed to a December law-enforcement boost, saying assaults against transit workers fell 25% in January and 29% in February compared with the prior six-month average, with systemwide crime down 9% and violent crime on buses down 19% through the end of February.
