College Student Says She Was Attacked on Train While Witnesses Watched

A 19-year-old college student in Chicago was returning home from a morning class Thursday when she says she was attacked by two people on a Chicago Blue Line train, all while witnesses sat and watched.

Jessica Hughes, a freshman at DePaul University, said she suffered a black eye, a broken nose and bite marks in the attack after a man and woman tried to steal her iPhone. 

“He kept beating me,” she said. “I yelled for help and no one came.” 

Hughes said she was sitting on the Blue Line train around 10 a.m. Thursday near the Kedzie stop when two people sat down near her and started yanking at her phone.

“He grabs me, pushes me to the floor, and he started beating on my head repeatedly,” she said. “He grabs my hand, looks me in the eye and bites my hand.”

Hughes said the woman with the man then joined in, breaking the young woman’s nose.

According to Hughes, two men were also in the train car with her, but simply watched the attack happen. 

“One of the men said he was sleeping, but if you heard someone screaming you would wake up right,” she said.

The Chicago Transit Authority said it is working closely with police and reviewing surveillance footage.

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