Four stabbed in Chicago’s Red Line robbery, police say

Four people were stabbed on the Chicago Transit Authority’s Red Line on the Near North Side early Friday morning when a group tried to rob a man.

Six attackers followed a 42-year-old man onto a Red Line train at the North/Clybourn station at 2:03 a.m., police said. The group demanded the man’s belongings and attacked him with a knife and broken glass bottle.

The man, who also produced a knife, was stabbed several times and transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious condition, police said.

All six offenders were placed into custody, including three who were stabbed during the attack, police said.

A 52-year-old man was transported to Stroger Hospital in serious condition with stab wounds to the neck, a 36-year-old man with cuts to his forearm was sent to Stroger in fair condition, and a 24-year-old with stab wounds to the back was sent to Northwestern, where his condition stabilized, police said.

“This kind of violence is absolutely unacceptable, and we applaud the Chicago Police Department for its quick actions to arrest the suspects. CTA will continue to assist CPD in its investigation, including sharing any video from our security camera system,” CTA President Dorval R. Carter Jr said.

Detectives are continuing to investigate, police said.

[ Frustrated by CTA service? So are these transit riders, and they’re taking matters into their own hands. ]

Separately, CTA riders have recently reported frustration with long wait times and “ghost” buses and trains that show up on trackers but fail to arrive in real life, the Tribune reported Friday.