South Side man charged with shooting at CTA train: cops

A man who allegedly opened fire on a CTA Blue Line train with “an assault weapon-type rifle” Thursday morning was charged Thursday night, Chicago Police said.

Lorenzo Jones, 25, of the 7500 Block of South Luella, was charged with two counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and one count each of aggravated assault with the discharge of a firearm and possession of a stolen firearm, all felonies, according to a statement from police. He was scheduled to appear in bond court Friday.

At a news conference earlier in the day, Supt. Garry McCarthy confirmed that five shots were fired at the train, but he wouldn’t speculate about the shooter’s motive. He said the shooter had a FOID card and that the stock had been cut off the rifle.

“He fired a number of shots at the train — not an individual, which is perplexing,” McCarthy said. “We responded, we got the gun, we got him. It’s kind of bizarre behavior. I don’t know his motivations.”

While no one was hurt in the shooting, passengers were rattled when five shots were fired from the La Salle Station platform at an oncoming train about 11:20 a.m.

Police activity inside the La Salle station after a shooting Thursday morning. |Brian Jackson/Sun-Times

Passenger John Langston, 50, said he was on his way home to the South Side when he heard a loud noise.

“I heard about four or five shots that hit the train,” Langston said. “Boom, boom, boom.”

He said police arrived a short time later and told passengers to get off the train. “It was frightening and now I am lost,” he added.

At a news conference later in the day, McCarthy confirmed that five shots were fired at the train, but he wouldn’t speculate about the man’s motive. He said the man had a FOID card and that the stock had been cut off the rifle.

“He fired a number of shots at the train — not an individual, which is perplexing,” McCarthy said. “We responded, we got the gun, we got him. It’s kind of bizarre behavior. I don’t know his motivations.”

Using CTA cameras, police tracked the man’s movements Thursday morning. McCarthy said the man boarded a train at La Salle, rode it for a while and eventually returned to the La Salle stop.

He waited there for a while, and when a train approached, he opened fire.

Then the suspect took off running, but he was captured near State and Polk.

More than a dozen officers and ATF agents were at the station after the shooting.

Normal service was restored on the Blue Line by Thursday afternoon.

The entrance to the Blue Line La Salle station. | Brian Jackson/Sun-Times