Police are investigating after a female CTA employee was attacked at knifepoint in the Chicago Blue Line station.
The 47-year-old employee had left her booth to use the restroom in the 800 N. Milwaukee Ave. station around 5 a.m. Wednesday, CBS Chicago reports. The attacker waited for her outside and forced the woman back into the restroom when she tried to walk back to her booth.
The attacker started choking the woman on the floor, and when she started scream he said, “Shut up! Shut up or I will cut you,’’ the Tribune said, citing the police report. The man fled through the stairs toward Milwaukee Ave. when a passenger came to the platform.
When police responded to the 911 call, officers found the woman "crying and traumatized" but otherwise not physically injured. The victim declined hospital treatment.
According to ABC Chicago, police describe the suspect as a 20-32-year-old black man with an afro hairstyle, 5'8" to 5'11" and weighing between 170 and 200 pounds. He was wearing a white tank top and blue jeans at the time.
Though concerned, one area resident said the attack didn't surprise him.
“Whenever I walk around this neighborhood, if I’m out at night, I always look behind me," neighbor Mike Simons told WGN. "It’s not that I’m paranoid, it’s just you have to be precautious."