A brave Chicago rail maintenance janitor lost his life as he tried to help a train operator who was being pepper-sprayed by a fare dodger.
Julian Mobley, 41, worked in the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) at the Damen Green Line station Thursday when he was stabbed multiple times in the neck by an unknown man.
Mobley intervened in an altercation over an alleged fare dispute that triggered the suspect, who allegedly maced a train operator in the station’s mezzanine in the 2000 block of West Lake Street, to stab Mobley.
When Mobley attempted to help out the operator, the unknown assailant pulled out a blade and pierced a major vein in Mobley’s neck, according to Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) workers.
The man fled the scene, and Mobley was found unresponsive in a nearby room.
Mobley was then rushed to John H Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The Chicago police department and detectives are currently investigating the incident and looking for the fugitive.
CTA members gathered together to release statements asking for better safety procedures and to speak on behalf of Mobley.