Chase employee dies after being stabbed at River North bank
CHICAGO - A 24-year-old Chase employee has died after she was stabbed while working in River North Wednesday morning.
The attack happened around 11 a.m. inside a Chase Bank at the corner of Dearborn and Ohio.
The 24-year-old woman was stabbed on the side of her neck after "after having a brief conversation" with a man inside the bank, Chicago police said.
She was identified as Jessica Vilaythong.
Vilaythong graduated from the University of Illinois last year.
Police believe this to be a random attack.
Witnesses said a man screaming at pedestrians and holding a knife, walked into the bank and within seconds had stabbed Vilaythong.
MORE: River North residents fed up with increasing crime: 'We're moving out'
"I saw a guy with a knife, a pretty big knife, with blood on it and he was running with a head of steam," said an eyewitness to the attack, who did not want to be identified.
He then walked back out and continued screaming at people while waving the knife.
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Paramedics rushed the woman to Northwestern Memorial Hospital as police officers scrambled throughout River North to find the attacker, still wielding a bloody knife.
Unfortunately, the employee did not survive.
"All I can do is think about her family and we just pray for them. It's absolutely terrible," one woman in River North said.
Chicago police said they questioned a person of interest in the attack, and the suspect is now being held, pending charges.
River North residents said they’re becoming fed up with increasing crime in the area, which includes this brutal stabbing attack and the vicious beating of two men in the middle of State Street last weekend.
Chase released the following statement on the passing of Vilaythong:
"We are devastated by the passing of our colleague Jessica Vilaythong and extend our deepest sympathies to her family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time. Jessica was a wonderful person and valued employee. She was extremely outgoing, passionate, hardworking, and quick to help clients. We will miss her greatly."