Editor’s Note: Officials have scheduled a 7 p.m. CT press conference. WGN will stream it live within this article.
FOREST PARK, Ill. — The shooter who opened fire on sleeping commuters aboard a Chicago Transit Authority Blue Line train on Monday morning was wearing a mask when they approached their victims, WGN Investigates has learned. There was no provocation before the gunfire, WGN is told.
While the shooter was masked during the shooting, surveillance cameras later captured them without it. The suspect was detained about 90 minutes after the shooting on a Pink Line train, authorities said.
Three of the four victims were identified Tuesday. Adrian Collins, 60, was shot in the abdomen. Simeon Bihesi, 28, had multiple gunshot wounds, officials said. Margaret Miller, 64, was also slain.
The alleged shooter, Rhanni S. Davis, 30, of Chicago, was charged with four counts of first-degree murder. Davis appears to have a history in multiple court cases under various names and addresses, including in Nashville, Tenn.
Blue Line service to and from the Forest Park Transit Center resumed Tuesday morning.
“I’m grieving. My heart goes out to those families and to those who lost their lives in this senseless, wicked act,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said at an unrelated event. “But it’s my effort to make sure that we are investing in people is still very much front and center.”
Commuters who spoke with WGN outside the Forest Park Transit Center, at 711 Des Plaines Avenue, said Monday morning’s massacre remained top-of-mind.
“This is tragic that this is happening in the community, and they need to do something,” said commuter Orlando Lee. Lee said more police to complement the K-9 security team already in place is needed, pointing out that groups of people gather at the station without using the train or buses served there.
“They’re all day. They’re hanging out like it’s a social hour. And you have people out here that are just trying to make a living and just want better protection out here,” she said.
Morning commuter Ramis Wells said he generally finds the location to be safe but added: “There are some unsavory characters around that you will see frequently.”
At a Monday press event hours after the shooting, Forest Park authorities, including Mayor Hoskins, appealed to state lawmakers for more resources. Hoskins said his community’s police and fire departments respond to the station “probably more than any other location in our jurisdiction.”
“And so to the extent that our leaders in Springfield are considering any kind of CTA, mass-transit reorganization, we would ask them to consider investing additional resources — in terms of public safety, law enforcement personnel, what have you — to support a small community like Forest Park that has to respond to two major train lines ending (here).”
On Tuesday, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, speaking at an event in Skokie to tout electric vehicle rebates, said transit security remains a priority for his administration.
“I absolutely believe that as we look at the reforms that we’re making to our transit system that we need to be addressing the broader question of, you know, why aren’t we .. why isn’t there enough security being provided. Of course, Springfield is going to be a very important part of that. We’re not the only funder or the only available partner in that, but certainly we’re trying to put together a plan that makes sense for the future and that will keep people safe.
Information about the fourth victim or what may have motivated Monday’s shooting has not been publicly released. At last check Tuesday afternoon, officials with the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office said they were still in the process of contacting next-of-kin.
