Chicago Transportation Authority (CTA) employees held a demonstration Wednesday to demand better safety conditions after police arrested a suspect in a hammer attack that took place on public transportation in the city.
Authorities took 30-year-old Curtis Tyler into custody Tuesday just after 6:00 a.m., according to a statement from the Chicago Police Department.
Just an hour prior to Tyler’s arrest, police believe he hit a 50-year-old man in the head with a hammer on the Red Line train, CWB reported. The victim was transferred to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center. His injuries are not considered to be life-threatening, despite suffering a hammer blow to the forehead, according to CWB. The hammer attack was the fifth such incident since July.
Some CTA workers out at the 95th street red line station right now. They say better safety measures are needed on city trains and busses.
This comes after five hammer attacks in the last month. @cbschicago pic.twitter.com/XNja6ytcng
— Mugo Odigwe (@MugoOdigwe) August 25, 2021
CTA workers wearing matching T-shirts and carrying picket signs marched outside the 95th Street Red Line Station Wednesday in response to the hammer attacks and Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s decision to mandate vaccines for all city employees prior to finalizing a deal with the city’s unions, Fox News reported. Workers chanted “no more mandates” and “cover us with safety” during the demonstration. (RELATED:7-Year-Old Girl Shot And Killed During Violent Weekend in Lightfoot’s Chicago)
Police charged Tyler with a felony count of aggravated battery/use of a deadly weapon. He was also charged with misdemeanor counts of thefts worth less than $500 and public indecency/sex conduct, Fox News reported. Tyler also received a citation from the CTA for bringing a weapon onto public transportation, Fox News noted.
Offender Charged with Aggravated Battery for Hammer Attack @ChicagoCAPS18 @Area3Detectives #ChicagoPolice pic.twitter.com/CvVvw2p3aV
— Tom Ahern (@TomAhernCPD) August 25, 2021
The Chicago Police Department did not confirm whether or not Tyler was the suspect for the other hammer attacks, Fox news reported. The hammer attacks go back as far as July 21, when a man attacked someone on a bus in the afternoon. Just over two weeks later, another individual was attacked with a hammer on the Green Line Platform the morning of Aug. 6, CWB’s report added. Police theorized two more attacks, one on Aug. 13 and the other on Aug. 18, were perpetrated by the same assailant.