Unprovoked Attack on Chicago Train
In a tragic event early Saturday morning, prosecutors have stated that a man filmed himself using his cell phone while fatally stabbing a sleeping passenger on a Chicago train.
Police were alerted to the situation at the Clark and Lake station just before 2:30 a.m., responding to reports of a stabbing.
According to court documents, the victim, identified as 37-year-old Dominic Pollion, had reportedly been asleep on the CTA Blue Line train for about an hour prior to the attack and had no interaction with the suspect before being stabbed.
The alleged assailant, Demetrius Thurman, 40, boarded the train around 2:20 a.m. and approached Pollion from behind while holding a cell phone in one hand and a knife in the other.
It’s believed that Thurman began recording as he stabbed Pollion twice—once in the chest and once in the abdomen. Witnesses say Pollion screamed, stumbled down the aisle, and then collapsed.
Thurman reportedly fled between train cars, continuing to video the aftermath from the window after the train halted at the station.
Before exiting, he allegedly made a claim to a security guard that “someone hit me.”
Initially, police did not notice Pollion’s injuries, as he was wearing multiple layers. Paramedics later identified the stab wound, but unfortunately, Pollion was declared dead at a nearby hospital.
Detectives acquired surveillance footage and were able to identify Thurman using a facial recognition program from still images captured during the incident.
Furthermore, a Chicago police officer identified Thurman based on a previous police bulletin and recalled having seen him on the Blue Line merely days before.
Thurman was apprehended the following day, still wearing the same clothes from the incident and in possession of a cell phone. His relatives helped detectives confirm his identity, and he purportedly confessed to the act.
During a hearing on Tuesday, a judge ordered that Thurman be held on charges of first-degree murder. His criminal record includes several offenses, with traffic violations dating back to 2023, as well as a drunk driving charge from 2017 and disorderly conduct in 2014.
