CHICAGO — Police Supt. David Brown has vowed to beef up police patrols on the city’s public transit system after a spate of recent violent CTA attacks, including the fatal shooting of a 29-year-old man on a Chatham Red Line train early Saturday morning.
At a press conference Saturday, Brown called the 2 a.m. killing at the 79th and Dan Ryan stop a “senseless act of gun violence.” The victim, who Brown identified as Diuntel Moon, was on a CTA train car when an unknown person fired multiple shots, killing him, police said.
“Incidents like these, whether on the CTA or in our neighborhoods, have no place in our city,” Brown said. “It is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”
Brown said that the department would be adding a “contingent” of officers to CTA trains as soon as Sunday. CTA President Dorval Carter also announced the agency would be bringing back its K-9 security teams to monitor trains and platforms within the next week.
“Violent crime is up, and that’s why we’re adding more and more resources to the CTA,” Brown said.
The CTA has approximately 300 unarmed security guards that patrol its vehicles and stations, according to its website. Carter said those guards are supposed to act as eyes and ears for armed police.
Police officials did not specify the number of additional officers being added to trains, citing a policy in which they do not disclose the exact number of officers assigned to specific units.
“We think it’s counterproductive and not strategic to give you the actual numbers,” Brown said. “I could just tell you, it’s a significant number that we’ve added to the CTA this year, but we also committed to adding even more.”
There’s no one in custody for the most recent Red Line shooting, and Area Two detectives are investigating. Deputy Chief Rahman Muhammad said police are working to collect as much video surveillance that we can gather, as well as interviewing witnesses.”
The killing on the Red Line was the latest in a recent string of violent attacks on CTA red line trains in the past month, including an attempted robbery that resulted in five people being stabbed in July.
While touting the officers that would be added to the CTA, Brown said that there is a demand for more officers across the city, including the Loop.
“It’s a balancing act,” Brown said. “Every neighborhood is seeking more and more police officers right now.”
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