Chicago IL April 10 2020 The CTA says it wants two security guards removed from its trains after a gun one of them was carrying in his pocket went off, wounding himself and a 16-year-old girl on a Red Line train Thursday morning.

“CTA absolutely will not tolerate this lack of professionalism,” the agency said in a statement, adding that it “has directed its security contractor to remove both guards permanently from CTA.”

Both guards, who were working together, are employed by Digby’s Detective & Security Agency, which the CTA hired last August to patrol trains and stations. The company could not be reached for comment.

The guards were working on a train when one of them approached the teen just before 4 a.m. because she was causing a disturbance, according to police and a CTA statement. Police spokeswoman Kellie Bartoli said the report was not yet complete, so it wasn’t immediately clear what the girl was doing.

As the coronavirus spreads globally, these celebrities and world leaders have revealed they have tested positive for the virus.

“He approached her and a minor physical altercation ensued, which caused the handgun he was carrying inside his pocket to discharge, striking him in the leg and grazing her stomach,” according to preliminary information from police about the shooting.

Officers responded when the train was in roughly the 900 block of West Belmont Avenue. Both the guard and the girl were taken to Illinois Masonic Hospital, where they were listed in good condition, officials said.

It wasn’t clear whether the guard, 38, had a concealed carry license. Even with a license, loaded concealed weapons are prohibited on CTA property.

“The actions of these security guards are completely unacceptable — and wholly contrary to their mission to protect customers,” the CTA said in its statement.

Share this post: on Twitter on Facebook