Man Punched At Belmont Station Latest In Red Line Attacks; He Vows To Keep Riding The L
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A victim of another attack on the CTA is coming forward in hopes that his story will help the next person. Police say the 65-year-old man was punched repeatedly in the face yesterday afternoon at the Belmont station.
The incident was just the latest in a string of high profile incidents that were reported to police
So far, there have been over half a dozen attacks on the CTA since Sunday, mostly along the Red Line.
Greg Ignatius was at Belmont getting ready to ride the Red Line.
He said a woman in front of him started picking a fight, blocking both sides of the escalator. Then, suddenly someone behind him grabbed him and started punching.
"He did that four times in a row in quick succession, these were power jabs," said Ignatius. "As I crumple down, the escalator is still moving."
Ignatius wasn't robbed, but he thinks they may have been their motive. The suspects fled.
Ignatius has Parkinson's and he thinks, "My collapse is what they didn't expect."
This is just one of several attacks within CTA stations and trains in the last week.
Police have released surveillance of suspects from the robbery attack on a pregnant woman and her friend Sunday at Roosevelt¦ and a robbery and sexual abuse attack on Thursday morning near the Morse station.
A spokeperson for the said the agency "continues to work closely with CPD to proactively address crime."
Adding that they work quickly with detective to provide surveillance images of the attackers...
Ignatius' glasses were broken and it's hard for him to see. But he resolved to keep riding the train.
Stuff like this happens," he said. He said people need to be extra vigilant and look for unusual behavior--like the argument he witnessed on Friday.
CPD says crime on CTA has gone up 2 percent since Thanksgiving, but that arrests are up now too, hovering at 180 percent.
The CTA says that in proportion to the sheer number of riders, the number of crimes in relation is low.