CTA janitor killed while assisting pepper-sprayed coworker at Damen Green Line station

Julian Mobley, a longtime CTA janitor, was fatally stabbed at the Damen Avenue Green Line station after intervening to help a coworker who had been pepper-sprayed during a confrontation with a suspect. The suspect, who later surrendered to police, had been fighting another CTA employee and used pepper spray, leaving the victim unable to see. Mobley turned his back to the assailant to assist, and the suspect thrust a sharp object into his neck.

Emergency crews rushed him to Stroger Hospital, where he died shortly thereafter; the Cook County medical examiner classified the death as a homicide. His mother, Joyce Mobley, recounted learning of the tragedy through her daughter's scream and expressed sorrow, while CTA and Local 308 union representative Audrey Veasley praised his character. No charges have been announced yet.