Convicted felon suspected of ELEVEN hammer attacks and robberies on Chicago transit riders is arrested 'after bashing 50-year-old commuter on the head'
A Chicago man has been arrested for allegedly clobbering a train passenger on the head with a hammer this week, and he is also being investigated in connection with nearly a dozen similar attacks.
Curtis Tyler, 30, was taken into custody just after 6am on Tuesday, less than an hour after police said he struck a 50-year-old man on the head while riding the CTA Red Line train in the 1200 block of North Clark Avenue.
Tyler was booked into jail on charges of aggravated battery using a deadly weapon, theft and public indecency. He was also issued a citation for being in possession of weapons on the train.
The victim, who has not been named, was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center to be treated for an injury to his forehead.
Curtis Tyler, 30, has been arrested in Chicago for allegedly bashing a 50-year-old train rider in the head with a hammer
CWB Chicago reported that Tyler was found with a hammer at the Belmont Red Line station.
Photos published by the news outlet purported to show the moment of Tyler's arrest and the hammer that was said to have been found at the scene.
While the Chicago Police Department on Wednesday could not confirm Tyler's involvement in other recent hammer attacks in the area, during his bond hearing this morning prosecutors said he has been tied to no fewer than 11 various offenses on trains and buses, including hammer attacks and robberies, reported CBS Chicago.
Tyler is a convicted felon with an extensive criminal record that dates back to at least 2007.
Tyler, a convicted felon, was apprehended on August 24 , an hour after the attack that left the victim with an injury to his forehead. A hammer was said to have been recovered at the scene
Unnamed sources told CWB Chicago that he was the same man who was depicted in a community alert that was issued by the Chicago Bureau of Counter-Terrorist Public Transportation last week.
The alert featured screenshots from three or four different surveillance videos, each of which showed a man in a black du-rag.
One of the images depicted the suspect wearing red sneakers similar to those Tyler had on at the time of his arrest on Tuesday.
A spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department told DailyMail.com on Wednesday that investigators were still looking at Tyler's possible involvement in four previous hammer attacks targeting train and bus riders since July 21. So far, no additional charges stemming from those other incidents have been filed against him.
The first hammer attack listed in the alert was said to have taken place just before 3.30pm on July 21 on a bus along Addison Street.
Police are investigating whether Tyler is the same suspect who was featured in this community alert in connection to four other recent hammer attacks
The next incident took place in late morning on August 6 on the Green Line at West Lake Street.
The hammer-wielding assailant struck again on August 13 on the Red Line platform at State Street, followed by a fourth incident just after 2am on August 18 on the Red Line at West Addison Street.
The community alert did not mention prior incidents involving a suspect armed with a hammer that took place in the Chicago neighborhoods of Lakeview and Boystown in mid-July.
During Wednesday's hearing, a judge set Tyler's bond at $350,000 and ordered him placed on electronic monitoring if he makes bail.