Police: CTA security guard ran from Red Line shooting, hid gun, claimed girl shot him

A CTA security contractor vehicle sits outside the Belmont CTA station in Lakeview in January 2020. | File

New details have emerged in Thursday morning’s accidental shooting aboard the Red Line near Belmont.

Eric Camp, a 38-year-old guard who was working for a CTA security contractor, was shot in the leg and a 16-year-old girl suffered a graze wound after a gun in Camp’s jacket pocket fired during a physical altercation on a southbound train around 4 a.m., police said. Camp and his partner were asking the girl to stop panhandling on the train, according to a CPD report.

Prosecutors charged Camp with felony aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, misdemeanor possession of a firearm, and an unspecified municipal violation.

Eric Camp | CPD

Police spotted Camp and his security partner as they ran away from the CTA station on the 3100 block of North Sheffield moments after the incident. Camp and the other guard allegedly told officers that they were chasing the girl because she shot Camp.

In fact, the girl remained on the train platform. And Camp didn’t tell officers that she was injured, according to cops.

Camp came clean about what really happened after officers found his gun in a nearby trash can, according to police.

The security contractor, Digby’s Detective & Security Agency, said Thursday that Camp and his partner “have been removed from their positions during an investigation.”

Camp was released from custody on his own recognizance during a bond hearing Friday.

The girl is charged with two felony counts of aggravated battery of a transit employee in connection with Thursday’s incident. Prosecutors also charged her with felony robbery and felony aggravated battery in a public place in connection with an Apr. 2 robbery at the Roosevelt Red Line station.

No further information is available about the teenager because she is a juvenile.

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CWBChicago was created in 2013 by five residents of Wrigleyville and Boystown who had grown disheartened with inaccurate information that was being provided at local Community Policing (CAPS) meetings. Our coverage area has expanded since then to cover Lincoln Park, River North, The Loop, Uptown, and other North Side Areas. But our mission remains unchanged: To provide original public safety reporting with better context and greater detail than mainstream media outlets. Our editorial email address is news@cwbchicago.com