Update 7:50 a.m.: Chicago police just issued a statement on the incident.
A 42-year-old man switched train cars at North-Clybourn and a group of six people followed him and demanded his belongings, police said. The group then attacked the man with a knife and a broken bottle. Police said the victim pulled out his own knife for protection.
He suffered several stab wounds and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious condition.
Police said all six suspects are in custody, three of whom were injured during the attack. Those three are a 52-year-old man who suffered a stab wound to the neck, a 36-year-old man who has cuts on his forearm, and a 24-year-old man who was stabbed in the back.
CWB’s original report follows…
At least four people were stabbed during a violent armed robbery aboard a Red Line train at the North-Clybourn station overnight. A source said Chicago police arrested at least four people, one of whom is hospitalized.
CPD has not released any information about the incident as of 7 a.m., but here’s what we have learned so far:
According to CPD radio transmissions, around 12:30 a.m., video surveillance teams began tracking a group of about 20 teenagers and adults traveling along the Red Line system. The group was first seen at Roosevelt, but they later exited at Belmont, where a sergeant reported that they were walking through the streets and “throwing up gang signs and whatnot.”
The group then boarded a southbound train, and at least five of them attacked a man as the train neared North-Clybourn around 2:06 a.m., according to information from the scene. CPD’s mass transit surveillance center reported seeing members of the group attacking a man on the southbound platform.
A 42-year-old man who said a group of people robbed and attacked him called 911 for help after running onto the tracks to escape the crowd.
Working with the surveillance center, officers detained at least four people, including an older man who was seen chasing someone with a knife. A female was also among the detainees.
Four people were transported from the scene in “red” condition, according to a fire department supervisor. “Red” condition means care is urgently needed and generally means serious- to critical condition. EMS took two patients to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and the other two to Stroger. Police were also guarding one of the men taken to Stroger as a possible offender.
EMS took the train operator to St. Mary’s Hospital for “anxiety,” the fire department supervisor said.
Officers at the scene reported that broken bottles and blood were spread throughout the area. The Red Line train was moved to the Howard Street terminal to be processed by evidence technicians. A police officer told a dispatcher there was “blood all over the train car.”
As of 6:45 a.m., trains bypassed the North-Clybourn while the investigation and cleanup were underway.
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