Repeat Offender Strikes Again: Man With 12 Arrests Accused of Brutal Elevator Attack at Northwestern Hospital
A Chicago man with a long trail of arrests is back in custody after allegedly assaulting a physician inside a Northwestern Memorial Hospital elevator—an attack prosecutors say was sudden, unprovoked, and brutal.
Sean Popps, 39, is charged with aggravated battery in a public place after he reportedly followed a 42-year-old cardiologist into an elevator at the hospital’s Streeterville parking garage on Nov. 2 and began punching her repeatedly in the head. The blows left her with multiple bruises, hematomas, and abrasions across her face, arms, and hands.
Authorities say the doctor had no prior interaction with Popps. Surveillance footage showed him trailing her into the elevator moments before the attack.
The incident has set off outrage among hospital staff and neighbors who say Popps’ presence on the property was neither new nor unnoticed.
“I’ve been seeing this guy all around that property… I even think I reported him once or twice to security that he’s dangerous. They did nothing about it,” one witness said.
According to CWB Chicago, a Northwestern security guard immediately recognized Popps from the elevator footage and tied him to more than 30 previous incidents on hospital grounds. Another officer reportedly said he’d dealt with Popps “two times a day over the last 19 months.”
Popps’ arrest history paints the same picture. He has been taken into custody a dozen times in 2025 alone, almost all incidents occurring on or near the Northwestern campus. Records show seven arrests in 2024 and several more dating back to 2020, most linked to the same area.
At the time of the elevator assault, Popps was already on pretrial release for an October trespassing case and an attempted escape from a police station.
Neither Northwestern Memorial Hospital nor the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office has responded to requests for comment.
Popps remains held at the Cook County Jail as the case moves forward.
The attack raises a familiar question for residents and hospital workers who say they’ve seen Popps roaming the area for months:
How many chances does a repeat offender get before someone gets hurt?