A CTA bus passenger was in police custody Tuesday in connection with a fight during a ride through the Douglas neighborhood that ended with another passenger shot to death, the bus driver wounded and the bus crashing into a tree.
No charges have been announced at midday Tuesday in the violent attack more than 36 hours earlier, according to Chicago police.
The incident began about 12:15 a.m. Monday, when a 19-year-old man and several friends were riding on southbound bus in the 3400 block of South State Street. The 19-year-old approached a “lone rider” and hit him multiple times in the head, according to police reports obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.
As the two fought, several other passengers moved from the rear of the bus toward the front before the lone rider pulled a gun and opened fire at the 19-year-old, authorities said.
One of the individuals from the 19-year-old man’s group returned fire, striking the 51-year-old bus driver and causing the bus to strike a tree, according to police and traffic reports.
The 19-year-old man, shot in the chest, was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 12:55 a.m., police said. A spokesperson for the Cook County medical examiner’s office said his name was not known.
A friend of the victim declined to comment immediately.
The bus driver, who did not return messages Tuesday, was taken to a hospital in good condition.
Witnesses told police the suspect who allegedly fatally shot the bus driver fled, but is now in custody, according to the reports.
The lone rider who shot the 19-year-old was still at large, Chicago police said.
Five shell casings were recovered from the back of the bus and one was recovered from the front. Police found one gun about 50 feet west of the bus, authorities said.
CTA President Dorval Carter said in a statement that it was “absolutely reprehensible” that a bus operator was injured due to the shooting onboard the bus.
“No one should experience this kind of violence, especially while merely performing their duties serving the public as a bus driver,” Carter said.
“Regardless of circumstances, the CTA has zero tolerance for gun violence, and will work with law enforcement officials to aggressively pursue upgraded charges against those found responsible for these actions.”
Carter said the CTA is assisting Chicago police with its investigation, including reviewing any available surveillance footage of the incident.
Editor’s note: This story has been corrected after Cook County prosecutors on July 3rd clarified the person who was in custody allegedly shot the driver, not the 19-year-old.
