A serial attacker who has fatally stabbed one sleeping homeless man and critically wounded another in Grant Park this summer has committed two similar assaults aboard the CTA Red Line, police said, most recently on Tuesday morning.
The offender stabs homeless men in their necks as they sleep, police said. He uses a knife in his left hand to commit the attacks, then flees, according to details released by CPD detectives late Wednesday.
In CTA surveillance images, the suspect is seen wearing a jacket with a distinctive “Aero 1987” design that appears similar to one that was worn during earlier attacks in Grant Park.
He struck most recently aboard a Red Line train at the 95th/Dan Ryan station around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, August 18, according to police. Investigators also revealed for the first time that the offender carried out another attack on the Red Line at 1:51 a.m. on July 15 at the 63rd Street station.
Both victims from the Red Line attacks survived. But the first known victim, 53-year-old Aaron Curry, did not.
Police found Curry fatally stabbed at 1125 South Michigan in Grant Park after a passer-by noticed he had not moved from the same spot for several days around 8 a.m. on July 9.
Another homeless man was critically wounded at 3:51 a.m. on July 24 while he slept in virtually the same spot where Curry died, according to police.
Detectives said the suspect has a slender build, stands 5’9” to 6’1” tall, and wears the distinctive “Aero 1987” sweatshirt.
Anyone with information about the offender can contact Area Three detectives Leavitt and Taglieri at 312-744-8261 regarding alert JD-307995. Anonymous tips can be submitted to cpdtip.com