Man Pushed In Front Of Train Fatally Struck At 87th Street CTA Red Line Stop
CHICAGO (CBS) -- For the second time in two months, a man is dead after being pushed in front of a CTA train in Chicago. The identities of the two men have not been released, but given the stay-at-home order, the crime numbers are alarming.
It was a gruesome scene along the tracks of by the CTA's 87th Street station. Police say just after midnight two unidentified men got into an argument on the Red Line platform. One man punched and then pushed the other onto the tracks where he was fatally hit by an oncoming train.
In early April, just weeks into the stay-at-home order, a Marine veteran was pushed in front of a train. Two teens were charged in his murder.
CBS 2 did some digging into the CTA crime numbers. When looking at overall crime on CTA trains, stations and platforms and comparing the weeks of the stay-at-home order from March 32 to May 16 over the years, the numbers are relatively flat. It's surprising since there has been a massive dip in CTA train ridership. The CTA says at one point in early April there were roughly 87% fewer riders on the train as people stayed home.
But those factors did not translate to a massive dip in crime on the CTA or overall in Chicago. Just days after the deadliest Memorial Day weekend in years, Chicago Police Supt. David Brown announced some restructuring, saying they will be adding more officers to "prominent spots," including the CTA, but they wouldn't comment on specifics.
Police say they do have a person of interest in custody, and charges are pending.