CTA switch worker shot, killed near train yard in Chicago's Roseland community
A Chicago Transit Authority switch worker was shot and killed in Chicago's Roseland community early Monday morning.
At 4:15 a.m., the 57-year-old man was shot in the chest in the 9900 block of South State Street, police said.
The victim was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in critical condition, police said. He later died at the hospital. Family members identified the victim as Thomas Kevin Barlow, but known to friends and loved ones as Kevin.
A union representing Chicago transit workers confirmed that the victim was a CTA switch worker. The family says he worked on the job for 18 years.
Police set up crime scene tape along an overpass on State Street, right where the Dan Ryan Expressway forks into the Bishop Ford Freeway to the south suburbs. A large CTA train yard is located beneath the overpass, which is also about half a mile south of the 95th Street Red Line terminal.
Investigators spent hours at the scene trying to piece together exactly what happened while gathering evidence. Along with police officers, several employees from a private security detail were spotted at the scene. It was unclear whether the security guards worked at the rail yard or at the 95th Street Red Line terminal.
The Chicago Transit Authority only confirmed that a person was found with a gunshot wound to the chest outside its 98th Street rail maintenance facility, and said the incident did not involve a CTA rail station and did not involve passengers.
Percy Greenwood and Katina Pohill, longtime friends of Barlow, said he worked doing the job that he loved and as a man who would always call.
"Kevin is one of those guys that gives you faith and friendship, you know. He's gonna always, always reach out to you. He's gonna always going to make sure you're OK," Greenwood said.
"We talked every day, so every day at 6 o'clock in the morning he would call and wake me up. 'I don't want you to be late.' OK, I won't be late," Phill said.
"Our members show up every day with dignity and pride to serve the city of Chicago, trusting that they will return home safely to their families. Today, one of our will not," said Pennie McCoach, president and business agent of Amalgamated Transportation Union Local 308.
Barlow is survived by his daughter and his father, whom he cared for and lived next door to.
Red Line service was not affected by the shooting. No information has been provided about the shooter.
A few hours after the shooting, police recovered a black Mercedes SUV matching the same description as the way neighbors described Barlow's car. Police have not confirmed a connection, but the vehicle is being investigated in connection with a carjacking and homicide.
A $2,000 reward has been offered by Union Local 308 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible. Cook County Crime Stoppers is also offering $10,000 in the case.
No arrests have been made. Calumet Area detectives were investigating.
