Professor recalls being ambushed by gunman on train
A Northwestern University professor has recalled the horrifying moment he was ambushed by a gunman on a Chicago train. Stephen Kleinschmit shared the harrowing story on social media amid outrage over the murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, who was allegedly killed by a career criminal while she sat unsuspectingly on a train in Charlotte, North Carolina.
'In 2021, I was on the Blue Line when a man dressed in all-black and a Shiesty mask walked between the train cars, reached into his backpack, and put a handgun to my head,' Kleinschmit wrote on X. 'He didn't rob me, he watched me begin to cry, laughed, then went to the next car. I was almost one of those stories they publish on page 5 of the Tribune, where you go "oh that's too bad" and quickly forget. It is emotionally scarring for even the strongest person.'
The public policy professor said he now avoids the L train line as much as possible and has 'anxiety attacks' when someone walks between cars. Kleinschmit, a self-described conservative, slammed former Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx, saying he did not report the attack to her because he knew Foxx 'never do anything about it.' Kleinschmit added that he does not trust statistics which show violent crime has gone down in Chicago, where he has reportedly also witnessed a gang attack, robbery and attempted sexual assault while on the trains. He called the rail service the 'primary mechanism for spreading crime throughout the city.'
'Crimes go unreported, are misclassified in the data, or perhaps even omitted altogether,' he wrote. Kleinschmit made the comments as Trump vowed to send National Guard troops into Chicago in an effort to reduce crime rates, after unleashing similar efforts in Washington D.C.
He added of Democratic mayor Brandon Johnson: 'This mayoral administration, like the ones that preceded it, punishes good people and rewards the bad. We have come to believe this is normal and must submit to random terror in the name of "social justice."' The professor then asked for federal forces to be sent to the Windy City.
'A broad cultural reset is the only way forward. Send in the FBI and National Guard, hire more CPD, do not parole violent offenders, break the gangs,' he wrote. 'Removing the class of hyperviolent criminals and repeat offenders from society will fuel safety, growth and prosperity the likes which many in the city has never experienced.'
Kleinschmit's story has gone viral in the wake of the outrage over the brutal stabbing of Zarutska on August 22. The Ukrainian refugee fled the war in her home country only to be killed by a career criminal on a train. Shocking video of the fatal attack appeared to show Decarlos Brown Jr. lunging at Zarutska from behind.
The footage skips the graphic slaughter to show the suspect walking through the train carriage carrying a knife dripping with blood as another passenger runs away. Brown, 34, who is homeless and has a litany of previous arrests - including for armed robbery and assault - to walk free on a 'written promise' that he would return for his next court appearance.