Chicago police said Thursday that city officials will make a formal announcement in the coming days on law enforcement's response to high-profile cases of violence on Chicago Transit Authority trains and tunnels.
Interim Chicago Police Supt. Charlie Beck said during a news conference that he and Mayor Lori Lightfoot would detail the city's plan on Friday or sometime by the following week.
"That announcement will include additional deployment of officers, technology and some other things that I think will reassure the people of Chicago what is the truth, which is that is CTA is a safe form of transportation," Beck said. "1.6 million people ride CTA every day. Crime in total on CTA is actually down 4% from last year and CTA is still one of the safest forms of public transportation systems in the world."
Beck's comments came after a man was charged in connection with a triple shooting on the CTA Monday that left a man dead and two others wounded.
Torrez Cathery, 23, was arrested in west suburban Oak Park Thursday, two days after a warrant was issued for his arrest, Chicago police said. He was charged with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated battery with a firearm.
The early Monday shooting was sparked by a “personal” dispute, police said. The shooting happened in the tunnel connecting the Jackson Red and Blue lines in the 200 block of South Dearborn.
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Edward Charleston, 24, was killed when he was shot in the stomach and chest. Another man was shot in the head and arm and taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition.
A 19-year-old woman was shot in the back and taken to the same hospital, where she was listed in good condition. Police said she doesn’t appear to have been involved in the argument between the men.
Two babies were in the vicinity of the shooting, CPD spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. The children were in the group that included the three victims, but the woman who was shot isn’t their mother, he said.
Cathery was due in bond court Friday.
