A gunman shot and killed four passengers sleeping onboard a commuter train traveling just outside of Chicago on Labor Day morning, officials said.
Police were dispatched early Monday to the Forest Park Station, an above-ground stop on the Chicago Transit Authority’s Blue Line, where they found four people who had sustained gunshot wounds. Three of the victims were pronounced dead on the scene. The fourth was rushed to Loyola University Medical Center where they too died a short time later, according to authorities.
Forest Park Police Deputy Chief Christopher Chin said the train was heading into the Forest Park terminal when the gunfire erupted shortly before 5:30 a.m. He described the shooting, which unfolded across two train cars, as “shocking” and “horrible.”
None of the dead has been identified.
“These victims likely never saw it coming,” Forest Park Mayor Rory Hoskins told ABC 7.
“They were executed on Labor Day,” Hoskins continued. “In our community, people go to the pool. They go to the park. You know, they barbecue. But, today, a lot of people were calling the mayor’s office, expressing concern and asking if they were safe.”
The gunman initially escaped from the scene, but CTA security and Forest Park Police located the suspected shooter on a CTA Pink Line train using surveillance video.
“Surveillance video is vital in a lot of our investigations, especially in this one,” Chin noted.
The suspect was taken into custody later Monday morning and a weapon was recovered, police said.
“This heinous and egregious act of violence should never have occurred, nonetheless on a public transit train,” the Chicago Transit Authority said. “As soon as it was reported, CTA immediately deployed resources to assist the Forest Park Police in their investigation into the matter, including review of all possible security camera footage, which proved to be vital in aiding local enforcement.”
In wake of the shooting, Blue Line service was suspended between Forest Park, a village 10 miles west of Chicago, and the Austin neighborhood, though service resumed Tuesday morning.
An investigation into the deadly violence, including what triggered it, is ongoing.
With News Wire Services