Person of interest in custody in stabbing death of CTA janitor Julian Mobley at Damen Green Line station: news
10-10-2026
Person of Interest in Custody in Fatal Stabbing of CTA Janitor Julian Mobley at Damen Green Line Station
Chicago police have taken a person of interest into custody in connection with the fatal stabbing of Julian Mobley, a Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) rail janitor who was killed at the Damen Green Line station on Chicago’s Near West Side.
Fatal Attack at Damen and Lake Station
The fatal confrontation took place on Thursday afternoon at the Damen Green Line stop along Lake Street, blocks away from the United Center. According to union officials and investigators, Mobley intervened to protect a Green Line train operator who was being assaulted. During the altercation, Mobley was stabbed multiple times. Emergency responders found him unresponsive in a station service room, and he was subsequently pronounced dead.
Person of Interest and Criminal History
Surveillance images captured the suspect fleeing the station heading west immediately after the stabbing. Police identified and detained a person of interest who has an extensive record with law enforcement, spanning dozens of prior criminal offenses including a previous conviction for a stabbing, outstanding warrants, and repeated ejections from the CTA rail network. Detectives continue to question the suspect while formal murder charges remain pending.
Transit Union and Family Demand Action
Mobley, who had been employed with the CTA since 2018, leaves behind a wife and two young children. Colleagues and representatives from the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 308 remembered him as a protector and family man who died trying to save a co-worker. Union leaders have declared the incident an unacceptable workplace safety failure, demanding immediate and aggressive security overhaulsincluding armed transit protection and heightened Chicago Police Department presence on rail platformsto safeguard transit workers and passengers across Chicago’s transit system.