Woman warns CTA Green Line riders of attack at 43rd Street station

ABC7 Exclusive (WLS) -- A woman is warning CTA Green Line riders about a group of young men who attacked her right after she exited a train at the 43rd Street stop.

Morgan Williams told ABC7 Eyewitness News she was beaten in an attempted robbery inside the station Friday night.

Williams said a group of males between the ages of 16 and 20 got on the Green Line train together downtown. Once they were on the train, they split up and sat in three different sections. Williams said she was suspicious of them. When she exited the train at 43rd, they followed her.

Instead of waiting for a bus outside, Williams stayed inside the station near an attendant. That's where they attacked her.

"One tried to take my phone out of my hand. He pushed me down, jumped on me, threw me to the ground and started punching me in the side of my head repeatedly - over and over again. I screamed for help," Williams said.

The attendant called police, but the young men ran off.

Two weeks earlier, four young men with black handguns got out of a red, two-door, Pontiac Grand Prix and robbed a victim about a block away from the 43rd Street station.

"I have heard about the robberies in the area. But I never really paid too much attention because to be honest, sometimes I'll see police patrolling, but at night I don't see that many," said Joey Colon, a CTA rider.

The two robberies come as the CTA announced a 25-percent decrease in crime on trains and buses. The mayor credited an investment in surveillance cameras. But Williams said she was in an area that had surveillance cameras when she was attacked.

Police urge CTA riders to be aware of their surroundings and to report suspicious activity. Anyone with information regarding the two Green Line incidents should contact Area Central detectives at 312-747-8380.