According to investigators, a disgruntled former employee shot and killed two persons in a “targeted attack” at Navy Pier in Chicago.
Chicago Police reacted to calls of a “active shooter” at around 1.18 pm on Tuesday when a man stormed the famed tourist site and fired “several shots” at two people, according to Police Chief of Patrol Jon Hein.
The unnamed shooter is thought to be a former employee who worked as a subcontractor on the pier and knew how to get to the back loading dock area, Hein said.
Upon entering, the gunman allegedly targeted two guys in a “private office area.”
The victims, two men aged 47 and 51 who both worked for a contractor, were shot in the head.
They were both taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where they died from their injuries, Hein added. The medical examiner’s office eventually identified one of the dead as Lamont Johnson, age 51.
Navy Pier, which houses 70 different tenants, was promptly sealed down following the shooting.
Many families had been visiting the park when the attack occurred, according to CBS News. Trent Halasek of Cincinnati, Ohio, told the publication that he had been visiting the pier when he seen officers “in full riot and SWAT gear” descend.
Police stated that the suspect had already departed the site.
Hein stated that the suspect has now been recognized as a former employee who had his employment contract terminated on October 14.
According to Navy Pier’s Chief Operating Officer Brian Murphy, the attack was a targeted “isolated incident” that put no one else on the pier in danger. It is unclear whether a weapon was retrieved at the site.