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A housekeeper at the W Hotel in downtown Chicago is being credited with preventing a possible mass shooting on the Fourth of July. The housekeeper, who was not identified, was cleaning a room on the 12th floor when she discovered a semi-automatic rifle with a high-powered scope and laser.
The gun was sitting near a window, which overlooked Ohio Street Beach. During a search of the room, investigators also recovered a handgun and several loaded magazines. They said the .308 rifle had a round in the chamber and did not have a visible serial number.
"This employee saw something by entering the room to clean it that likely prevented a tragedy from happening," Chicago Police Superintendant David Brown said. "Thank God for that hotel worker who saw something and said something, and I believe averted disaster."
Keegan Casteel, 32, of Ankeny, Iowa, was taken into custody and is facing multiple weapons charges. The guns were registered to Casteel in Iowa, but he was not allowed to possess them in Illinois. Authorities said that Casteel does not have a criminal record, and they have not determined his intentions.
A judge set Casteel's bond at $10,000 and said he would be allowed to return to Iowa but would have to be travel back to Illinois for his court hearings.
"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."