Barbara Johnson Charged With Stabbing Street Performer At Jackson Red Line Stop
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A 38-year-old woman has been charged with stabbing a street performer Tuesday afternoon at a Loop subway station.
Barbara Johnson, of Blue Island, has been charged with two felony counts of aggravated battery and one misdemeanor count of criminal damage to property.
Police said, around 1:35 p.m. Tuesday, she walked up to a 26-year-old man playing the guitar at the Jackson Red Line station, and started arguing with him.
The woman then pulled out a knife and stabbed the man on the left arm.
Steve Miller of WBBM Newsradio talked with the 26-year-old victim, Michael Malinowski – also known as "Machete Mike."
The attacker told police she stabbed Malinowski after she said his music was giving her a headache, WBBM Newsradio reported.
Malinowski told the station that the woman first unplugged his amplifier and then tried to push him onto the tracks – and he said some people yelled at him for fighting back.
But then he realized he had been stabbed, and noticed his blood was everywhere, he told the station.
The victim was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in fair condition, police said. His guitar was destroyed in the attack.
Witnesses identified Johnson as his attacker, and she was arrested at the scene.
A GoFundMe fundraiser has been set up to help Malinowski replace his damaged gear.
