Thieves loot freight train on West Side, Chicago police say; at least 6 arrested

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Chicago police are investigating a railway cargo theft Friday afternoon on the city's West Side.

Chopper 7 was above the scene, showing the brazen freight heist as a mob of apparent thieves were seen ransacking a cargo train in South Austin, ripping through multiple boxes of merchandise.

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Witnesses told ABC7 at least a dozen people took part in the burglary for nearly an hour before police even arrived.

"When I seen the guys up there, I'm like, 'Eh, this doesn't look right,'" witness Princess Shaw said. "As we were coming down, we saw the gentleman on Cicero itself, opening up the freight train."

That's when Shaw said she began snapping pictures just as the group began breaking into the freight cars.

In a statement late Friday, a spokesperson for Union Pacific said "the train was stopped, awaiting an interchange with a partner railroad, when thieves began opening containers."

Chicago police said officers responded to the scene just before 4 p.m. in the 400 block of North Lamon Avenue.

"We just seen the police just, like, flying down here from all different directions," Shaw said.

At one point, police officers were seen drawing their weapons and aiming them toward at least one vehicle apparently speeding away from the scene.

The railway is no stranger to these type of freight cargo thefts. It was the second time in a few months people allegedly broke into cargo trains on the train route.

"This happens on and on, over and over again," Shaw said.

It was back in August, near Lawler and Kinzie on the city's West Side, when thieves broke into another freight train and got away with multiple boxes full of TVs, police said.

READ MORE | Union Pacific investigating freight train cargo theft on West Side, authorities say

It is a crime of opportunity in a West Side neighborhood that Shaw said, for many, is empty of opportunities.

"Who's really doing something about this, right?" Shaw said. "Because obviously this is a broken system."

Union Pacific, who has now taken over the investigation from CPD, said at least six people have been arrested and some of the merchandise was recovered.

In a statement earlier Friday, a Union Pacific spokesperson said, "rail burglaries pose a safety threat to the public, our employees and local law enforcement officers."

Metra trains were stopped near Kedzie when police were investigating.