A Chicago man was arrested and charged with the murder of four people who were allegedly sleeping on a train in the Illinois suburb of Forest Park.
The man, Rhanni S. Davis, 30, will face four counts of first-degree murder after committing the execution-syle killings of four people whole they slept on a train car.
The Incident
The shooting took place on Monday at 5:30 a.m. on the Chicago L train in Forst Park.
The area is a suburb around 10 miles outside of downtown Chicago. David was taken in to custody on Monday after the Chicago Transit Authority line formally charged and identified the suspect.
The Murder Scene
On early Monday morning, Chicago Transit Authority employees were the first to come across the scene of a gruesome murder.
The employees were unlucky to find the bodies of three gunshot victims while cleaning train cars on a Blue Line train, according to a police report.
The Blue Line Train
The train line in question operates 24 hours a day and runs from Forest Park through downtown Chicago to the O’Hare International Airport.
The train line is usually super busy but at this time of the day there were only a few patrons on the car.
The Crime
Forest Park police were the first on the scene, where they discovered the three passengers, who had been shot in the head.
A fourth victim was found in a different train car with a gunshot to the stomach. Although they were rushed to the hospital, they died related to their injuries later in the day. All victims have been pronounced dead.
The Investigation
Currently, the investigation has revealed that the train was moving at the time of the shooting.
All four people appear to have been sleeping and most likely didn’t notice the gunman approaching when they were killed, Forest Park Deputy Police Chief Christopher Chin said.
Motivation
Right now, no motivation has been uncovered.
Although the killings were gruesome and described by police as “execution style,” they are also “believed to be random,” Chin added.
The Victims
The three victims who were pronounced dead on the scene were identified as Margaret Miller, 64, Simeon Bihesi, 28, and Adrian Collins, 60.
The fourth victim was a male but has not been identified as the family has not been notified yet.
Tracking Down the Suspect
Shortly after the shooting, the suspect attempted to flee the scene. Thankfully, he was identified on video surveillance and was arrested shortly after 7 a.m. on another L-line train.
The police were also able to recover a Glock handgun on the suspect, which matched shell casings at the crime scene.
Court Proceedings
Davis was called to court on Wednesday to begin dealing with the “heinous crime and tragedy.”
It’s unclear what sentence will be pushed for Davis at this time. In Illinois, the punishment for first-degree murder carries a minimum sentence of twenty years and, under certain circumstances, life in prison.
First-Degree Murder
A person can be charged with felony murder when someone intends to kill or does great bodily harm that will knowingly cause death.
A First-degree murder specifically means someone intended to cause harm or kill, which is also known as “express malice.”
Forest Park Mayor Speaks Out
Rory Hoskins, the mayor of Forest Park, spoke at a press conference on Monday to address the shootings.
He noted that while shootings like this are rare, it’s still a “horrible tragedy that four people are dead on Labor Day weekend.”
