A man prosecutors say recorded himself stabbing a sleeping passenger on a Chicago Blue Line train is now charged with first-degree murder, as city leaders face intensifying pressure to confront violent crime on the transit system, reports Newsmax crime correspondent Jason Mattera on Friday.
The attack happened in the early morning hours of Jan. 10, when the victim fell asleep on the train and "woke up in the most brutal way possible, getting stabbed by a total stranger," Mattera told Newsmax's "Wake Up America."
Prosecutors allege Demetrius Thurman walked up behind the sleeping passenger and began recording on his phone before stabbing the man once in the chest, near the heart, and again in the abdomen. The victim reportedly stood up screaming, eventually collapsed, and later died from his injuries.
Mattera reported public anger has centered not only on the killing itself, but on how it was carried out.
He said the allegation that Thurman recorded the stabbing has fueled outrage as violence on Chicago's transit system continues at what he described as a disturbing pace.
Thurman's criminal history stretches back to 2007, nearly two decades.
Chicago Alderman Jim Gardiner said the lack of a police presence on trains and buses has left riders vulnerable.
"Right now, I think we have 135 full-time officers assigned to our transit, but that's buses and that's trains," Gardiner said. "That's nowhere near enough."
Gardiner also compared that number with the size of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's security detail.
"The mayor of Chicago has 150 officers to watch. One person, literally," Gardiner said. "The mayor has more officers assigned to his watch than we do," he continued, adding that there were 316 million rides taken on trains and buses last year.
Mattera reported that the Federal Transit Administration has warned Chicago that current safety conditions are unacceptable and is threatening to withhold $50 million in federal funding unless the city submits a stronger safety plan by March 2.
Retired Chicago police officer Martin Priebe said the violence is tied to repeat offenders facing few consequences.
"The disorder in the transit system is what happens when elected leaders refuse to impose meaningful punishment on those who commit crime," Priebe said. "The criminals feel like when the police stop them, they don't have to listen."
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