Shocking moment on-duty Chicago transit worker SHOOTS violent passenger for shoving him to the floor: Now faces attempted murder charges
- Sylvester Adams, 53, is charged with felony first-degree attempted murder and felony aggravated unlawful use of a weapon
- The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) customer assistant was taken into custody after shooting Jeremy Begay, 37, inside the 95th Red Line station early Saturday
- Begay had been disturbing customers in the train station, police said
- Video shows the man as he forcefully shoves the worker to the ground then flees
- The CTA worker pulled out as gun, ran after the man, and fired shots, hitting him
- Begay was taken to the University of Chicago hospital in critical condition with gunshot wounds to his back, abdomen, and left leg
- CTA said the worker was not allowed to carry a firearm
- The CTA is ‘pursuing termination’ of the employee
A Chicago Transit Authority worker is facing attempted murder charges for allegedly shooting a ‘violent’ passenger after being shoved to the ground in a shocking moment that was captured on video.
Sylvester Adams, 53, was taken into custody moments after the early Saturday morning shooting at the 95th Red Line station.
He is charged with felony first-degree attempted murder and felony aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.
The victim, identified as a 37-year-old Jeremy Begay, was taken to the University of Chicago hospital in critical condition with gunshot wounds to his back, abdomen, and left leg.
Chicago Police said Begay had been disturbing customers in the train station leading up to the argument that escalated to a fight just before 2 a.m. on Saturday.
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Video shows the heated altercation between the two men and the shocking moment Jeremy Begay shoves CTA worker Sylvester Adams to the ground early Saturday
Sylvester Adams, 53, was taken into custody moments after the early Saturday morning shooting at the 95th Red Line station
Video posted by the @CPD1617Scanner Twitter account shows the heated altercation between the two men and the shocking moment Begay shoves the worker to the ground.
He then flees down the stairs at the station.
The video footage shows the CTA worker regain his composure as he appears to pull out a gun and limps over to the stairs.
‘He got his pipe, boy,’ a bystander at the station is heard on the video saying.
The CTA worker pauses at the top of the stairs and then starts firing several shots at the man, hitting him, police said.
Chicago Police said Begay had been disturbing customers in the train station leading up to the argument that escalated to a fight just before 2 a.m. on Saturday
The video footage shows the CTA worker regain his composure as he appears to pull out a gun and limps over to the stairs
The CTA worker pauses at the top of the stairs and then starts firing several shots at the man, hitting him, police said
CTA said the worker was employed as a customer assistant and was not allowed to carry a firearm.
‘Based on our own investigation, we can also confirm that this employee was in violation of several CTA workforce rules, including one that expressly prohibits the possession of a firearm,’ the agency said in a statement.
‘The behavior of this one employee is not at all reflective of the thousands of hardworking and dedicated men and women who take pride in their work and responsibly perform their duties each day,’ the agency added.
The CTA is ‘pursuing termination’ of the employee, the agency said.
Adams is scheduled to be in bond court on Sunday.
The violent incident comes as Chicago experiences a dramatic and sustained crime wave.
While murders are roughly flat so far in 2022 compared to last year, they are up 24 percent from 2020 and 74 percent from 2019.
The Chicago Transit Authority, meanwhile, recorded a spike in crime of 56 percent in January and February, according to the Chicago Tribune.
In Chicago, crime is up by 34%. Subway crimes rose by 56% in January and February
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