CHICAGO — The man killed by Amtrak police in a shootout at Chicago Union Station on Tuesday had allegedly shot and killed a man in Oakland just four days before.
Jamar Jason Taylor, 33, of San Leandro, Calif., died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital after being shot in an exchange of gunfire with police on a station platform after the California Zephyr arrived shortly after 5 p.m. on Tuesday [see “Murder suspect shot, killed …,” Trains News Wire, Aug. 25, 2021].
WMAQ-TV reports police had obtained high-definition video surveillance showing Taylor carrying out the fatal shooting of a 55-year-old man in Oakland on Saturday. An arrest warrant had been issued Tuesday morning for charges including murder and illegally possessing a gun as a felon, among other allegations. Taylor had previously been convicted for making criminal threats, attempted grand theft, and commercial burlgarly, among other crimes.
Police in California notified Amtrak police that Taylor was heading to Chicago by train, and Amtrak officers were waiting when the train — which had left Emeryville, Calif., on Sunday, the day after the shooting — arrived at Union Station on Tuesday evening.
Chicago Police Department spokesman Tom Ahern told the TV station that when officers confronted Taylor, he ran, knocking over Amtrak employees before firing a shot at officers. One of the Amtrak police returned fire, striking Taylor in the chest. Three other people were injured, although none were shot.
Ahern said Chicago and Amtrak police are working jointly on the case. Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari told the station the Chicago police will complete their report and provide it to Amtrak’s Office of Professional Responsibility, which reviews officer-involved shootings.
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