A Northwestern University professor has recalled the horrifying moment he was ambushed by a gunman on a Chicago train.
In the midst of widespread indignation over the tragic killing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, who was allegedly murdered by a repeat offender while she was unsuspectingly traveling by train in Charlotte, North Carolina, Stephen Kleinschmit shared his own terrifying experience on social media.
‘During 2021, I was riding the Blue Line when a man, clad entirely in black and wearing a Shiesty mask, approached between the train cars. He reached into his backpack and pressed a gun to my head,’ Kleinschmit recounted on X.
‘Although he didn’t rob me, he observed me as I began to cry, laughed, and then continued to the following car. I nearly became one of those brief news stories that appears on page 5 of the Tribune. You think, “oh, that’s unfortunate,” and move on. It leaves a deep emotional scar, even on the strongest individuals.’
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, who identifies as a conservative, criticized former Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx, stating that he chose not to report the incident because he believed Foxx would ‘never take any action.’
Northwestern University professor Stephen Kleinschmit recalled the horrifying moment he was ambushed by a gunman while riding a train in Chicago
In sharing his story, he drew attention to the murder of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, who was fatally attacked from behind while seated on a train in North Carolina.
Kleinschmit mentioned his disbelief in the statistics that claim violent crime in Chicago has decreased, as he has reportedly witnessed gang violence, theft, and attempted sexual assault while using the city’s train system.
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.’
Zarutska’s family called her death on August 22 ‘an irreparable loss’
President Donald Trump said he will look into the ‘horrible’ killing of a Ukrainian woman by a career criminal as he spoke to the press Sunday at Joint Base Andrews
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.
