CHICAGO – In connection with the egregious break-in at a freight train on Chicago’s West Side, six persons have been taken into custody. The mayhem started on Friday at 2:40 p.m. in the Austin neighborhood’s 4700 block of W.
Kenzie spread to Lake Street and Lockwood Avenue. A freight train stopped on the rails and was surrounded by a throng. Swarms of thieves started opening containers as the train was parked and waiting to transfer with a partner railroad, according to Union Pacific.
Crimes and safety threat
A Union Pacific representative stated in a statement that “rail burglaries are not victimless crimes and they pose a safety threat to the public, our employees, and local law enforcement officers.”
Even more, thieves were observed packing the pilfered goods into their cars and, in one case, a box truck. A Metra spokesman discusses a West Side train burglary by a mob. The West Side of Chicago is being overrun by police as a result of rumors that a crowd has broken onto trains at Lockwood Avenue and Lake Street.
Since then, some of the goods have been found, according to Union Pacific. Flat-screen TVs, appliances, and air fryers were among the stolen goods, according to the police.
Metra and Chicago police were on the scene quickly, and it was reported that up to thirty people were involved in the large-scale theft. Passenger transportation was even suspended by the incident.
Trains on the Union Pacific West Line were stopped near Kedzie, both inbound and outbound, around 4:40 p.m. by Metra, citing “ongoing police activity.” Metra advised passengers to find other forms of transportation at 6:50 p.m., stating that UPW train service had resumed between Elburn and Maywood but was still suspended between Maywood and Chicago.