Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is delaying Supreme Court consideration of a lawsuit challenging the prohibition on lawful concealed carry on public transportation in the state by requesting more time to respond to SCOTUS's request for a reply brief, but the Court could still take up Schoenthal v. Raoul in conference this spring. If the justice grant cert, oral arguments could be held this fall, but even if a majority of justices side with the plaintiffs it would most likely be next year before the ban could be struck down.
That's not great for Chicago residents who want to carry on the buses and trains run by the Chicago Transit Authority, and every day Raoul drags his heels is another day where riders are at risk being victimized by violent criminals.
Last Saturday a rider on a Blue Line train was fatally stabbed while he was sleeping, and his alleged killer is accused of recording it all on his smartphone.
Demetrius Thurman, 21, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 37-year-old Dominique Pollion, who was found unresponsive on a Blue Line train at the Clark-Lake station around 2:17 a.m. Prosecutors said there is no known relationship between the men, and the two did not have any interactions before the attack.
Pollion was sleeping on the train with his head resting against the window when Thurman approached him from behind and began recording on his phone. CTA surveillance footage and Thurman’s phone video show Thurman stabbing Pollion once in the chest near his heart and a second time in his abdomen, Assistant State’s Attorney Mike Pekara said in a detention filing. After the attack, Thurman allegedly turned the phone camera to face himself, directly capturing his own face in the video.
Pollion woke up screaming and backed away down the aisle before collapsing, according to Pekara.
Pollion himself might not have been able to fend off Thurman's attack given that he was asleep on the train (bad idea, by the way), but that doesn't mean that an armed bystander couldn't have intervened.
In fact, another death on a CTA train last month did involve someone who tried to stop a violent attack against a stranger, albeit in a way that ultimately aided the attacker.
Pedro Villareal allegedly shot and killed 44-year-old Raymond Harrison during an altercation on a Pink Line train car near the Washington-Wells station at 1:22 a.m. on December 23, according to a detention filing by Assistant State’s Attorney Mike Pekara.
It all began as an argument between Villareal and Harrison that escalated when Villareal pulled out a knife and held it in his hand before putting it back in his pocket, according to the filing. He later pulled the knife out a second time and raised it, causing Harrison to back up.
Prosecutors say Villareal then rushed at Harrison with a stabbing motion, and the two men began to struggle on the train.
According to prosecutors, a 23-year-old who was carrying a firearm in violation of CTA policy and Illinois law (it's unclear whether he had a concealed carry permit) saw the attack, drew his gun, and then pistol-whipped Villareal, which caused him to drop the knife he was holding.
Unfortunately, the armed citizen also dropped his gun. Instead of going for his knife, Villareal grabbed the pistol and shot the Good Samaritan in the wrist. The now-unarmed citizen then ran to another train car, while Villareal allegedly shot Harrison in the chest.
It was dumb for the gun owner to use his pistol as a blackjack instead of its intended purpose. Even pointing the gun at Villareal and ordering him to stop would have been better than pistol-whipping him, but if the armed citizen believed that Harrison's life was in danger then he should have shot Villareal instead of clubbing him.
Gun control activists would argue that this incident proves that public transit is no place for lawful concealed carry, that the more guns there are on CTA trains and buses the more opportunities for individuals like Villareal to get ahold of those guns and use them to harm others. Of course, that argument ignores the fact that Villareal was already allegedly armed with a knife, just like Thurman was.
Violent crimes are taking place on CTA property on a regular basis despite its status as a "gun-free zone." Some people are illegally carrying firearms on CTA property, not to commit a crime, but to protect themselves and others. The Illinois law and the CTA policy at the heart of Schoenthal v. Raoul aren't keeping people safe. They're merely serving to disarm those riders who want to stay on the right side of the law, and at the expense of their Second Amendment right to bear arms.
