A man on parole for armed robbery is accused of a brutal attack aboard a Red Line train last week that left a 61-year-old woman brain-dead, officials said.
Mijawon Johnson, 36, was charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery and a misdemeanor count of violating an order of protection, police said. A Cook County judge ordered Johnson detained Sunday.
CTA employees discovered the woman unresponsive, lying across the seats of a train car about 1:30 a.m. Thursday near the Roosevelt station, at 1167 S. State St., in the South Loop, according to police.
Investigators were led to Johnson after CTA video footage surfaced showing two men beating and robbing the woman on the train.
Court documents say Johnson was one of two suspects on the train and tried to steal the woman’s bag. Johnson allegedly held the woman’s head on a train seat while he punched her in the abdomen and head and “stomped” on her body, leaving her brain-dead, according to the documents.
She suffered cuts and bruises to her face, broken ribs and trauma to her body. She was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, and she remains in grave condition on a ventilator, police said.
Johnson’s protection order violation happened on Dec. 31, 2023, at a different address and involved a different victim, according to court documents. It’s unclear whether that incident is connected to the attack on Thursday.
Johnson, of the 1100 block of North Howe Street, was paroled Aug. 14 after an armed robbery conviction for which he was placed into custody on March 10, 2021, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Johnson is due back in court on Friday.
Violent crime on the CTA was down 2% in 2023 compared to 2022, and property crimes dropped 7%, according to Chicago police statistics.
In 2023, there were at least 24 reports of criminal sexual assault on CTA properties, according to city data.
Contributing: Sophie Sherry
