Multiple people arrested, accused of stealing from containers on a parked train in Chicago

At least six people have been arrested after allegedly ransacking a parked Union Pacific train in Chicago.

The Union Pacific train was stopped for an interchange with another rail line on Friday when the suspects came up to the train and began busting open containers and taking the stuff inside. Union Pacific, Chicago Police Department and the Metra Police Department were involved in arresting suspects and recovering stolen goods, the rail line said in a statement on its website.

Metra is Chicago’s primary commuter rail line. The theft took place on Metra’s Union Pacific-West line.

The Union Pacific statement mentions four arrests; another two people were taken into CPD custody according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

“In all my years living on the West Side, I've never [seen] an actual freight train parked over a viaduct where people are actually going into it … And they were just opening it up like it was Christmas,” witness Princess Shaw told Chicago CBS affiliate WBBM-TV.

The stolen merchandise included televisions, air fryers and appliances, police told Chicago Fox affiliate WFLD-TV. Upwards of 30 people were involved in the alleged theft at the scene by the time police arrived.

Union Pacific emphasized in their statement that “Rail burglaries are not victimless crimes, and they pose a safety threat to the public, our employees and local law enforcement officers.”

Metra UP-W service was suspended near the Kedzie station, the last one before Chicago’s Ogilvie Transportation Center at around 4:39 p.m. local time.

Train service on the UP-W line resumed between the Elburn and Maywood station at around 6:50 p.m. but remained suspended between Maywood and Chicago due to continuing police activity at the Kedzie station. Delays continued into early Saturday morning as a result.