Family Members Turn In Serial Stabber In Homeless Attacks: Cops

CHICAGO — A 28-year-old Chicago man is being held without bond after police said he roamed the city and stabbed three homeless men as they slept over in a series of attacks. Bryant McCalip appeared before Cook County Judge John Lyke Jr. on three felony counts of attempted murder and aggravated battery. McCalip was identified by family members who recognized his photo from a CTA surveillance photo.

Prosecutors said that McCalip is also a suspect in a homicide from July 9, where a homeless man was found stabbed to death who had apparently been sleeping in a park. Prosecutors said video surveillance showed McCalip in all three attacks.

In the most recent attack, prosecutors said McCalip boarded a CTA Red Line train at 63rd Street around 3:40 a.m. Aug. 18. CTA surveillance video allegedly showed McCalip passing by a 40-year-old man sleeping on the train before returning a few seconds later and sitting the seat in front of the sleeping man. A few minutes later, prosecutors said McCalip removed a knife from his pocket when he began stabbing the man.

The sleeping man woke up as McCalip immediately walked away, prosecutors said. The injured man underwent surgery for stab wounds to the left side of his neck and a cut to his wrist, and is reported to be in stable condition. Prosecutors said surveillance video captured a clear image of McCalip’s distinctive gray hooded sweatshirt, with “AERO 1967” red lettering on the front.

Prosecutors said other angles of the CTA security video also showed McCalip walking through train cars. At one point the hood of his sweatshirt slipped off his head, showing a clear image of McCalip’s face, according to the complaint.

A 30-year-old man sleeping on the sidewalk outside the CTA Red Line station above the Dan Ryan Expressway on 63rd Street woke up when he was stabbed five to six times in the early morning hours of July 15, prosecutors said. When the man woke up, he told police he saw McCalip attempting to swing at him again. Prosecutors said when the man took a “defensive stance,” McCalip stopped and walked away. CTA surveillance video allegedly captured McCalip standing on the sidewalk a few feet away from where the man was laying. Prosecutors said McCalip appears to come very close to stabbing the man, then retreats and walks around some more. According to the complaint, McCalip removed a knife from his left pocket and starts stabbing the man.

The injured man walked into St. Bernard Hospital with a stab wound to the neck, where hospital staff said they recognized him as being homeless. He was taken from St. Bernard’s to Stroger Hospital in critical condition.

A week later, on July 24, a 53-year-old man sleeping on a park bench woke up when he felt a sharp pain in his neck and saw that he was bleeding. The man walked over to the street when he was approached by police officers who brought him to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious condition, where he was treated for puncture wounds in his neck. The injured man claimed he noticed someone riding away on a Divvy bike. Prosecutors said a POD camera in the park captured McCalip wearing a dark gray sweatshirt with red lettering on the front circling the park bench for approximately 10 minutes.

RELATED: Serial Stabber Arrested In Attacks On Sleeping Homeless Men, Police Say

McCalip is also under investigation for a homicide that occurred July 7. Chicago police were called again to the skate park at Grant Park the morning of July 9. Officers saw a 58-year-old man lying in the grass while being treated by paramedics. Prosecutors said the blade of a knife was stuck in the man’s right shoulder. The man was unresponsive and had several stab wounds to his neck and stomach, and appeared to be in the state of decomposition. Officers found the handle of a broken knife laying in the grass near the man.

The Cook County Medical Examiner said the man died of multiple stab wounds and ruled his death a homicide around 9 p.m. July 7, and in the same spot the net day. She called police July 9 when she noticed the man, identified by the medical examiner as 58-year-old Aaron Curry, hadn’t moved from the grass. Curry suffered from multiple stab wounds to his back and neck.

In a Monday morning news conference, CPD Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan said the stabbing spree took place across three police districts. The three stabbings were tied together after family members called police when they recognized from a CTA bulletin, Deenihan said. In surveillance videos, McCalip appeared to be left-handed. Prosecutors said that surveillance video captured McCalip signing jail paperwork with his left hand.

During a weekend court hearing, Judge Lyke called the stabbings “the epitome of evil,” the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

“This defendant stalked these people like they were prey and ended up stabbing them and watched as they suffered,” the judge said.

McCalip is due back in court Aug. 28.