After three teens are shot at 95th Street terminal, CPD superintendent acknowledges need for more officers on CTA
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago Police are changing how they monitor CTA trains after three teens were shot over the weekend at the 95th Street Red Line terminal.
CBS 2's Tara Molina on Monday asked Interim Chicago Police Supt. Fred Waller what is being done to keep people safe on our public transit system. Waller acknowledged there needs to be more officers patrolling the system - something he said the department is working on.
Police said around 2:45 p.m. Sunday, a 19-year-old man got into a fight with another man on the sidewalk. The teen ran into the train station, and the second man followed him - pulling out a gun and firing shots, police said.
The 19-year-old was shot in the right hand and right leg and was transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in fair condition.
An 18-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy who were also in the vestibule were shot as well. the 18-year-old was shot in the left arm and transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center in good condition. The 16-year-old was struck in the right shoulder, the right arm and the lower back and was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition.
A 44-year-old woman was also injured due to a fall during the commotion. She was transported to Advocate Trinity Hospital.
Again, all this happened inside the CTA station.
Chicago Transit Authority President Dorval Carter issued this statement as police investigate:
"This kind of violence is completely unnecessary and should not happen anywhere on CTA property. We are working very closely with the Chicago Police Department as it investigates this incident, including sharing any available security camera video."
"Instances of violent crime on the system are comparatively rare. According to CPD, violent crime on the CTA is down 14% month to date and 6% year to date, while overall transit crime is down 9% year to date.
"These reductions are a result of CPD's continuing efforts, which CTA supports through the deployment of security teams and K-9 patrols.
"CTA also supplements CPD's efforts with an extensive security-camera network and with hundreds of personnel deployed across the system each day, around the clock who are trained and acutely focused on customer comfort and safety."
Meanwhile, Supt. Waller said the CPD is working on adding more officers to the CTA.
Molina: "We continue to hear concerns about violence on the CTA. Now we see a shooting, and three teenagers injured over the weekend. Can you respond to that, and also what's going on this summer to keep our public transit safe for everyone?"
Waller: "We are planning on adding some more officers to the Mass Transit Unit. It's kind of a scarce unit right now. We need to add some more to it. But we're pulled in so many directions right now. But that's what the plan is."
According to the CTA and CPD, violent crime on our public transit is down 6 percent since last year. But those numbers were all-time highs.
We looked closer and found violent crime on the CTA is still higher than we've seen from 2015 to 2021.
There are no details from police on how many officers the CPD plans to add to the CTA system, or when.