Thieves loot freight train on West Side, Chicago police say; at least 6 arrested

Chicago police are investigating a railway cargo theft Friday afternoon on the city’s West Side.

Chopper 7 was above the scene, showing the brazen freight heist as a mob of apparent thieves were seen ransacking a cargo train in South Austin, ripping through multiple boxes of merchandise.

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Witnesses told ABC7 at least a dozen people took part in the burglary for nearly an hour before police even arrived.

“When I seen the guys up there, I’m like, ‘Eh, this doesn’t look right,'” witness Princess Shaw said. “As we were coming down, we saw the gentleman on Cicero itself, opening up the freight train.”

That’s when Shaw said she began snapping pictures just as the group began breaking into the freight cars.

Who’s really doing something about this, right? Because obviously this is a broken system.

In a statement late Friday, a spokesperson for Union Pacific said “the train was stopped, awaiting an interchange with a partner railroad, when thieves began opening containers.”

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