CTA bus driver shot with paintball gun in Chatham, taken to hospital

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A CTA bus driver was hit by pellets from a paintball gun and had to be taken to the hospital Monday night.

The driver was hit just before 10 p.m. on Cottage Grove Avenue in the Chatham neighborhood.

Police said the 44-year-old man was struck by pellets as two passengers were exiting the bus.

Authorities said they do not know if the offender shot the paintball gun from a passing car or if they were on foot.

The driver was taken to Jackson Park Hospital in good condition.

Police have not said if this latest incident is linked to a rash of paintball attacks that have happened in the city since mid-September.

Last week, a bicyclist was shot with a paintball gun in the 1800-block of West Hubbard Street, police said. In a separate incident, a man who was walking his dog in the West Loop was struck several times when a passing white sedan fired pellets at him.

Sun-Times Media contributed to this report.