More police promised for Chicago trains after fatal shooting
ASSOCIATED PRESS / 2020
A man stands in a heating shelter at the Chicago Transit Authority’s Merchandise Mart “L” station in Chicago. Chicago Transit Authority President Dorval Carter addresses the media in Chicago, Saturday, Aug. 6, saying the transportation system will reinstate canine security units on CTA trains in the coming weeks to stem increased violent crime, including the shooting death of a 29-year-old man early Saturday.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. >> Chicago police and transit officials on Saturday pledged additional security for the city’s trains to stem a spike in violent crime after the shooting death of a passenger overnight.
A 29-year-old man, Diuntel Moon, was shot multiple times in the chest and abdomen on a Chicago Transit Authority Red Line train on 79th Street in the Chatham neighborhood about 2 a.m. Saturday, Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said at a news conference.
Moon was pronounced dead at a hospital. No suspects are in custody, Brown said.
“Senseless gun violence and incidents like these … have no place in this city. It is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” Brown said. “No resident should think twice about their safety on any part of CTA or in our neighborhoods.”
Brown and CTA president Dorval Carter denounced the spike in numbers, not seen for a decade. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that as of mid-July, CTA has reported 488 violent crimes this year, higher than at any point since the same period in 2011.
Gun violence in particular continues to haunt Chicago. In addition to Moon’s killing, Chicago police Deputy Chief Rahman Muhammad on Saturday reported four other early morning homicides in the city. However, gun crimes are down this year compared to 2020 and 2021.
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Through June, Chicago police reported 1,255 shootings and 310 homicides. That grisly pace would mean more than 600 for the year, but significantly fewer than the 836 in 2021.
Brown promised additional police officers will be assigned to the CTA starting Sunday, but he declined to specify how many for security reasons. He said the police presence on the CTA had been fortified earlier this year as well.
The CTA, which has an unarmed security force, will reinstate the use of canine patrols, Carter said without elaborating.
“It’s just another additional resource to use, obviously, in addition to the security guards,” Carter said. “There’s nothing magical about the canine unit.”
“The more we can add to the CTA in both an unarmed security and prevention mode, armed CPD officers in an enforcement mode and really aggressive investigative efforts in bringing offenders to justice is all part of the criminal justice effort,” Brown said.
