A murder suspect is dead following a shootout with police on a Metra train in north suburban Deerfield Friday night, authorities said.
While investigating a homicide that occurred Thursday in Evergreen Park, agents with the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force arrived at the Lake Cook Road Station around 10:30 p.m., according to police.
Three to five agents tracking the suspect boarded the train on the Milwaukee District-North line, officials said, and found the suspect armed with a handgun in the upper deck.
As the officers approached, authorities said the suspect fired multiple rounds at police, who returned fire as they retreated. The suspect was struck, then taken to an area hospital and pronounced dead, officials said. A weapon was recovered from the scene, according to police.
The suspect was later identified as 32-year-old Jamal Parks, of north suburban Gurnee, according to a release from Illinois State Police. An autopsy is scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday, according to the Lake County Coroner’s office.
No officers were shot, police said, but two officers were taken to area hospitals and treated for minor injuries sustained in the incident. Both have since been released.
Around 40 passengers on the train at the time of the shooting were evacuated and taken to a nearby Home Depot store to stay warm while waiting to gather their belongings from the train.
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"I fell several times, and then I just got back up and I ran to a restaurant," passenger Simone Koetaan said, detailing the chaos.
The train had just stopped at the station, according to Koetaan, when she heard two shots, then screaming followed by several more gunshots.
"You never expect to get on a train and you know, hear gunshots all of a sudden," Koetaan added. "I thought a train is supposed to make you feel safe, or it's a place where you least expect it. I didn't expect this at all."
Nearly six hours later, around 4:30 a.m., the passengers were released from the scene.
According to police, Parks was sought in connection with a murder that happened Thursday evening in south suburban Evergreen Park.
34-year-old David T. Murrell was shot and killed inside a vehicle in a Walgreens parking lot in the 8700 block of South Kedzie Avenue, authorities said.
Illinois State Police are leading the investigation into Friday’s shooting, and the Public Integrity Task Force responded in accordance with procedure in all officer-involved shootings.
