A man accidentally shot himself while trying to rob a passenger on a CTA platform at Roosevelt early Sunday, police said.
The offender, 26, was trying to mug a man on the outside platform that serves Orange and Green Line passengers when he accidentally shot himself in the left thigh around 1:33 a.m., according to police.
He then made his way to the Adams-Wabash station, where he claimed to have been shot in a random act of violence. But CTA surveillance cameras recorded the entire botched robbery, and the man’s story quickly fell apart as police investigated.
An ambulance took him to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in good condition with a gunshot wound to his left thigh.
Increasing violent crime
Sunday’s shooting comes amid a sharp increase in violent crime reports at CTA stations that serve the Red Line.
Analysis of city crime data shows robberies along the Red Line system between Roosevelt and Howard are up 80% this year compared to the pre-COVID period of January 1 to March 15 of 2020. In fact, more robberies have been reported along that stretch of the CTA system this year than in any year since at least 2015, despite suppressed ridership.
Overall, 34 robberies of all kinds were logged this year on the Red Line between Roosevelt and Howard as of March 15. Five of this year’s hold-ups were reported at the Howard terminal. By comparison, that station only logged two robberies during the previous six years combined.
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