Two people were seen carrying a box that appeared to contain a TV and placing it in a waiting sport-utility vehicle parked nearby.

Trains on Metra's Union Pacific West line were halted during rush hour Friday evening after the rail agency reported police activity, with video showing people reportedly stealing from freight trains on the line.

"This is disheartening to me that something like this could take place with such casualness," said Loyola University Chicago professor of criminology Arthur Lurigio.

It was a scene that unfolded live on television as dozens of people rushed a railyard in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood, stealing items from a parked freight train.