CTA crime: Man charged with murder in stabbing at Loop station

CHICAGO - A man was charged with murder in connection with a stabbing at a downtown CTA station last Saturday.

Demetrius Thurman, 40, allegedly stabbed a 37-year-old several times in the chest and abdomen a little before 2:30 a.m. at the Clark/Lake station, according to police.

The victim was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he later died. As of Tuesday morning, his identity had not yet been released by the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Thurman was arrested Sunday in the West Loop near Canal and Adams streets. He was charged with one felony count of first-degree murder.

Thurman, of the Park Manor neighborhood, has a detention hearing scheduled for Tuesday.

CTA crime

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Thurman was the second man charged with murder this week in connection with a CTA attack in the Loop.

Pedro Villareal, 34, was charged in a shooting on a CTA Pink Line train last month that left one rider dead and another wounded.

The shooting happened around 1:22 a.m. Dec. 23, 2025, on a train near Wells and Washington streets in the Loop.

Police said a 23-year-old man and a 44-year-old man were on the train when an argument broke out with the suspect, later identified as Villarreal, who was armed with a knife.

At some point, one of the victims pulled out a gun, but police say Villarreal "gained control" of the firearm and started shooting.

The 44-year-old man, identified as Raymond S. Harrison Jr. of Chicago, was shot in the abdomen and taken to Northwestern Hospital, where he died. The 23-year-old was shot in the wrist and survived.

He was charged with one count of murder, one count of attempted murder, multiple weapons-related felonies and a CTA trespassing citation.

Under the spotlight

Big picture view:

Crime on the CTA has drawn federal scrutiny, stemming from a November incident when a man set a woman on fire aboard a train downtown.

On Dec. 19, federal transit officials ordered the agency to submit a new, tougher safety plan within 90 days or risk losing a quarter of its federal operating funds, citing failures to meaningfully address crime on the system.

The Federal Transit Administration said CTA is out of compliance with a special safety directive issued earlier that month that requires measurable reductions in transit worker and customer assaults, along with a surge in security staffing. 

If CTA does not submit a revised plan and obtain federal approval, the FTA said it will withhold 25 percent of the funds the agency receives under federal law. The notice served as a formal warning under federal transit safety statutes and regulations.

The FTA said CTA’s plan failed to set monthly reduction targets for assaults over the next six months, as required, and did not propose significant increases in security or law enforcement presence on buses and trains.

"I'll say it plainly: CTA, city, and state leaders are failing transit riders and operators," Federal Transit Administrator Marc Molinaro said in a statement at the time. "This 'plan' fails to measurably reduce incidents of assaults and improve overall safety on buses and trains. If people’s safety is at risk, so are federal funds. CTA must act to save lives and improve safety."