A 24-year-old man who is accused of weapons violations after the fatal shooting of a 61-year-old doorman near the UIC/Halsted Blue Line station during an altercation over a fare was an employee for the transit authority, according to a police report.
Luther Hopkins, 24, was charged with unlawful use of a weapon, according to police.
No first-degree murder charges were filed, police said.
Hopkins, who police said is a CTA worker, was taken into custody at the scene of the shooting and was scheduled to appear in bond court Tuesday. Hopkins has a FOID card but does not have a concealed carry license.
The CTA didn’t respond to several requests for comment.
John Flemister, 61, was shot and killed just after 6 p.m. Saturday after an altercation with Hopkins over Flemister being allowed to “pass through without payment,” according to the police report.
A second CTA employee tried to intervene and “de-escalate” the argument, which spilled onto the pedestrian bridge.
A witness told police that Flemister was allegedly the “first one to reach towards his waistband” where a gun was, while the shooter “simultaneously” reached into his black bookbag, pulled a gun and began shooting, hitting Flemister at least seven times, the report said.
An autopsy determined Flemister died of multiple gunshot wounds and his death was ruled a homicide, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Flemister was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital at 6:37 p.m., according to the medical examiner’s office.
Flemister, a doorman at several West Loop buildings, had a valid FOID card and concealed carry license, according to the police report. Police found a second gun in a bag nearby, which belonged to Flemister, the report said.
Family and neighbors gathered at a vigil near the UIC/Halsted stop Monday to remember Flemister, who they remember as a “gentle, kind soul” who helped raise his sister’s and niece’s kids.
“He was the best person ever,” Flemister’s niece Sabrina Holton told the Sun-Times Monday. “I hope that we can find a funeral place that’s big enough for the love that he’s going to receive, because everyone loves him.”
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