Sylvester Adams, 53, of Lynwood, is facing charges of attempted murder and unlawful use of a firearm in connection with the attack, which was recorded on video from a mobile phone that was shared on social media. During his initial hearing, prosecutors said that when Adams was arrested shortly after the shooting, he admitted to firing on the 37-year-old man. Prior to the shooting, prosecutors said the victim and another man approached a kiosk where Adams and another CTA officer were staying and asked for instructions and assistance in finding an ATM. The victim, who prosecutors said was “clearly drunk,” then got into a fight with the man, prompting Adams’s associate to call police. Police helped the man get on a train, but left when the victim said he was driving, prosecutors said. The victim later started threatening Adams and the other CTA employee, and also got into a fight with other patrons. Prosecutors said Adams eventually left the kiosk holding a hammer and started arguing with the victim, who pushed Adams to the ground. While on the ground, prosecutors said, Adams tried to hit the other man with a hammer and he was kicked in the face. Adams followed as the victim tried to run down a flight of stairs, prosecutors said. They were watched by other witnesses, one of whom was returning. “He took his pipe, my boy,” said one witness in the video, which was widely circulated on his cell phone, as Adams appeared to grab his pocket and pull out a pistol. Prosecutors said Adams then fired nine shots, hitting the other man in the back, abdomen and right leg. Adams returned to the kiosk and told his colleague that “his life is over,” prosecutors said. The other CTA official, following a trail of blood, found the victim hiding on the edge of the podium, prosecutors said. The shooting was also recorded by the station’s surveillance cameras, prosecutors said. And when police arrived at the station a second time, Adams admitted to shooting the victim. that the conversation with the police was recorded on a police camera, prosecutors said. The victim was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in critical condition, although prosecutors said he was expected to recover. Joshua Nathan, Adams’s public defender, described his client as a lifelong Cook County resident who has worked for the CTA for four years. Following the shooting, the CTA said it was “seeking an end” after noting that Adams had violated several rules of the service, including possession of a firearm. Nathan pressured Judge Barbara Dawkins to dismiss the prosecutors’ request for the bail to be rejected, arguing that Adams had a gun license and no criminal record. Dawkins replied that Adams had brought a gun to work and fired multiple rounds “on one of the busiest L platforms in this city.” “The spheres have no names. “They have no addresses,” he said. “[He was] firing multiple shots under a ladder, endangering … anyone in the area. “ Dawkins then ordered Adams to be held without bail. His next trial is set for April 4.
