Detectives suspect a disgruntled former employee of being responsible for the shooting deaths of two men near Navy Pier on Tuesday afternoon.
At 1:18 p.m., officers were sent to the north side of Navy Pier, where cars pull into pier garages, after many shots were fired, according to Chicago Police Chief of Patrol Jon Hein. The incident, according to Hein, took place in an administrative office near the Navy Pier loading docks.
Two individuals were shot by what police believe was an ex-employee who entered the loading dock and started shooting. According to Hein, both were shot in the head and transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where they passed away.
The Medical Examiner’s Office identified one of the victims as 51-year-old Lamont Johnson. Both victims were employed by a contractor, and the second victim was a 47-year-old guy.
Police were still looking for a person of interest as of late Tuesday. Detectives from the Belmont Area stayed on the scene to continue their investigation.
The gunshot was an isolated occurrence that took place in a non-public area of Navy Pier, according to Navy Pier Chief Operating Officer Brian Murphy. However, Navy Pier promptly put security measures in place and was placed under shelter-in-place and sealed down.
“Once we were able to determine that the offender had left the property and police were able to ensure that, we’re back up and open at Navy Pier,” Murphy stated.
Murphy said the gunfire was thought to be targeted, and police and Navy Pier officials never thought the public was in danger.
Despite the weather and the fact that it was Election Day, a large number of individuals and families were traveling from out of town to visit Navy Pier, Illinois’ most famous tourist destination, when the shooting occurred.
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For a little more than an hour, everyone was ultimately placed under lockdown.
“Our manager got a call from the head of Navy Pier, and to say we needed to start locking down—that there was an active shooter,” Stephanie Knowles, who works at Navy Pier stated. “So he started locking down, and we just huddled in the back of our storage room.”
Some folks were not able to hear the gunshots because they were inside Navy Pier. However, it became evident that something significant had happened when they went outside and noticed the heavy police presence.
