Photos Released Of Suspect In Fatal CTA Blue Line Stabbing

CHICAGO — Chicago police have released photos of a man believed to have fatally stabbed a 43-year-old man on a Blue Line CTA train late Monday evening.

Around 10:50 p.m., police and paramedics were dispatched to a stopped train at 150 Wells Drive in the South Loop. Police found a 43-year-old man with “a stab wound to the chest while on the train,” according to the CPD police notifications. The gravely injured man was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office identified him as James R. Parsons IV, who lived in the South Shore neighborhood.

Police said Parsons boarded railcar 2972 on the Blue Line at 426 S. Clinton St. They think Parsons was stabbed between the Clinton and LaSalle stops, where police said he exited at the LaSalle Street subway platform.

A community alert has been issued. Police are seeking to identify a man described as black, with a medium complexion, between 35 and 55 years old, with a black and grayish beard.

Surveillance images released by police show a man wearing a blue sweatshirt with writing across the front, with the hood up, and a white baseball cap. The images show him carrying a white plastic bag and a bag of popcorn.

The stabbing has shocked commuters who rely on CTA to get to work and shopping. CTA-related crime is up 40 percent this year compared to last year, news reports said.

"It's concerning because, you know, I don't know if I'm going to be robbed one day or not or mugged or even killed or shot; I mean, you see at Millennium Park someone got shot in broad daylight, so I mean it's happening all the time everywhere now," commuter Ryan Esquivel told ABC 7 Chicago. "You are not safe in this city anymore."

In March, CTA officials announced that security would be increased on trains and buses, but they have yet to be fully deployed.

CPD Area 3 detectives are investigating. Anyone who recognizes the person in the photos is asked to call 312-746-8261 or email anonymous tips to cpdtip.com.

CPD Area 3 detectives are asking for the public's help in identifying this man believed to be involved in a fatal stabbing on the CTA Blue Line/Chicago Police Department