A 71-year-old woman who was stabbed multiple times while walking her dog near Chicago's Union Station Wednesday afternoon is feeling "lucky to be alive" after the brazen attack.
Authorities said the woman was walking at 1:30 p.m. near the sidewalk in the 200 block of South Canal Street when she was approached by a man who stabbed her in the back seven times with a "sharp object" before fleeing the scene.
The man was then placed into custody by responding officers moments later.
The woman was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where she was initially reported to be in critical condition, according to authorities.
The victim's husband told NBC Chicago over the phone that the woman, Arlene Rado, was attacked randomly while walking her dog, initially thinking that she was being punched.
Rado called her husband shortly after the stabbing before she was taken to the hospital.
“She was just walking down the street coming back home and an arm went around her neck from behind… He immediately started stabbing her," Alan Rado, the woman's husband, said.
Rado said that a nearby bystander took out clothes from his suitcase to help stop the bleeding before paramedics arrived at the scene.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
"I'm in shock. I'm also, on the other hand, very happy other people in the city came to my wife's aid," Rado said.
The attack missed all of Arlene's organs, later telling her husband she feels "very lucky" to be alive.
According to police, charges are currently pending against the suspect.
The stabbing comes just days after a couple walking in the city's Streeterville neighborhood were allegedly beaten and pepper sprayed by a group of teens.
A 40-year-old man was struck repeatedly in the head, while a 41-year-old woman was also assaulted, according to authorities.
A 14-year-old is charged with battery for allegedly striking the man in the case, while a 17-year-old female is accused of battering the woman in the attack.
In light of the incidents, 2nd Ward Ald. Brian Hopkins is calling for an increase in mounted police units to disperse large teen gatherings in Streeterville while pushing for an 8 p.m. curfew time for unaccompanied minors.
