CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Criminal charges have been filed against a man who is alleged to have shot a CTA bus driver Saturday night in the Loop.
Dennis Green, 38, is facing a number of changes, including attempted murder for allegedly shooting a 34-year-old CTA bus driver in the jaw during an attack around 9 p.m. Saturday night in the first block of East Washington Avenue, police said.
He was also charged with aggravated battery to a transit employee, being an armed habitual criminal, and possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number, Chicago police said.
Keith Hill, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 241, told CBS 2 when the when the No. 20 Madison bus pulled up to its last stop at Michigan Avenue, all passengers were required to get off. But Green did not want to exit.
“He didn’t want to get off the bus. He exchanged words with the driver,” Hill said. “Then, it led to altercation where my member got shot.”
The 34-year-old CTA bus driver was rushed to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious condition. Green was arrested minutes later in the first block of East Jackson Boulevard, police said, and a weapon was recovered.
Hill has been pushing for more safety measures.
“This is a cry to all drivers to get home safely,” Hill told CBS 2.
“From the North Side to the South Side, from the lake all the way to Harlem, everybody deserves safety. Damn sure my drivers deserve to be safe while we’re earning a living.”
Hill wants police officers to be riding buses.
“We don’t know who or what we’re picking up,” he said. “We don’t know what they have on them...
“When is enough going to be enough?” Hill added. “We’re not going to lose a life. We will take drastic action before we lose a life.”
In a statement this weekend, the CTA decried the attack.
“An assault on any CTA bus or rail operator – public servants who have courageously kept the city moving throughout the pandemic – is unacceptable and completely unwarranted,” the statement said.
Green was expected to appear in bond court Tuesday.
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