"That's ridiculous, I mean, my pops is 60 years old," said Raymond Head, a CTA rider.
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Crime on the CTA is becoming all too common, riders say.
"It actually is really scary. Like, we are students," said fellow CTA riders Maggie Rojero and Sergio Ameccua. "There's several people on there that's dangerous, so yeah."
The shooting happened in the Chatham neighborhood near the 87th Street Red Line stop about 6:10 a.m., police said.
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The victim was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition, police said.
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Police said the shooter fled from the train at 87th Street. No one is in custody and Area Two detectives are investigating.
"It's getting ridiculous out here, and hopefully Chicago police and the CTA get a hold of it real fast," Head said.
Head said just a few weeks ago, his father was also was robbed on the Blue Line.
"Some guy followed him from Jackson all the way to Western, and followed him off the Blue Line and they robbed and beat him up. He didn't have anything," Head said.
Head said he's forced to take the train every day to work.
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"I got to get home and make the money for my kids so. I'm trying to stay safe myself," he added
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These recent acts are prompting the violence prevention group, Ex-Cons for Community and Social Change, to launch a week-long initiative. They are deploying volunteers to monitor the CTA themselves overnight and prevent more crimes like these.
"It is unsafe at night. I feel like anytime of the day, because there's really no security down there and anything bad could happen," Rojero said.
Police have not provided further information about Saturday's shooting.