Photo: AFP
A housekeeper at the W Hotel in downtown Chicago prevented a possible mass shooting on the Fourth of July.
The housekeeper, was cleaning a room when she discovered a semi-automatic rifle with a high-powered scope and laser sitting near a window, which overlooked Ohio Street Beach.
A search of the room, recovered a handgun and several loaded magazines, as investigators said the .308 rifle had a round in the chamber.
"This employee saw something by entering the room to clean it that likely prevented a tragedy from happening," Chicago Police Super Intendant David Brown said. "Thank God for that hotel worker who saw something and said something, and I believe averted disaster."
Keegan Casteel, of Ankeny, Iowa, was taken into custody and is facing multiple weapons charges, as the guns were registered in Iowa, and he was not allowed to possess them in Illinois. A judge set Casteel's bond at $10,000.
"Unfortunately, because he was charged with mere possession illegally here in our city, the charges weren't of the type that he could have been held," Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said. "He's now on the radar screen of the FBI, and we have to make sure that this individual is somebody who is known to law enforcement not only here in Chicago, but back in Iowa where he came from."