Charges pending against CTA worker who allegedly shot man at Red Line station

Charges were pending Saturday against a Chicago Transit Authority employee after he allegedly shot a man multiple times during an argument at a Red Line station on the South Side, according to Chicago police and CTA officials.

Cellphone video that was posted to Twitter appears to show the CTA worker arguing with the man just before the shooting, which police said happened just before 2 a.m. Saturday at the 95th/Dan Ryan station.

What led to the argument was not immediately clear.

The man is seen pushing the worker to the ground, who gets up and appears to reach into his pocket and pull out a gun.

The man who shoved the worker then walks away down a set of stairs, and the transit worker follows him, the video shows.

“He got his pipe, boy,” a bystander at the station says before the CTA worker appears to fire one shot from the top of the stairs, pauses and then fires off several more rounds in rapid succession down the stairs, the video shows.

The video was shared with and posted by the @CPD1617Scanner Twitter account and has not been verified. Police declined to comment on the video, and the transit agency didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The victim, identified as a 53-year-old man, was taken to University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition with gunshot wounds to his back, abdomen and left leg, police said.

The CTA worker, also 53, was taken into custody, and a weapon was recovered, police said. Charges were still pending Saturday evening.

In a statement, the transit agency 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 statement said.

The CTA is cooperating with police and “pursuing termination” of the employee, the agency said.