https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/man-arrested-after-weapons-found-in-hotel-room-overlooking-chicago-july-4-festivities/ar-AALQtFm?ocid=msedgntp

Man arrested after weapons found in hotel room overlooking Chicago July 4 festivities

An Iowa man has been arrested after a rifle and ammunition were found near a window inside his hotel room in downtown Chicago on the Fourth of July, officials said.

A member of the cleaning staff at the W Hotel alerted authorities about firearms he found "in a very suspicious position inside one of the rooms" on Sunday, Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said Tuesday.

The rifle and handgun, along with five rifle magazines, were found laying on the windowsill of the hotel room on the busy holiday weekend night, Brown said. Prosecutors clarified Tuesday the rifle had four magazines next to it and a live round in the chamber, Chicago ABC station WLS reported.

The hotel overlooks Navy Pier and the lakefront, where hordes of people gather for Fourth of July festivities.

Keegan Casteel, 32, of Ankeny, Iowa, was questioned by the Chicago Police Department's Joint Terrorism Task Force and arrested without incident. He’s been charged with two felony counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, police said.

Casteel had a court appearance Tuesday and was ordered to be held on a $10,000 bond, according to WLS. If he posts bond, he'll be allowed to return to Iowa.

The setup echoed the 2017 Las Vegas massacre when a shooter opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel onto the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas Strip, killing 60 and wounding hundreds more.

The hotel employee “likely prevented a tragedy from happening,” Brown said.

MORE: 1-month-old, 9-year-old girl shot in the head in separate acts of violence: Chicago police

Police said Casteel does not have a criminal history. He also did not have a Firearms Owner Identification Card in Illinois, Brown said, which is needed to legally have a gun in the state. Casteel does have an Iowa gun permit, prosecutors said.

It's unclear if Casteel has obtained a lawyer.

“We are also conducting gun tracing of both rifle and the handgun for further investigation. There is no previous criminal history of this person nor any other issues in our federal databases,” Brown said. "Obviously, very concerning given to the position of the W Hotel to Navy Pier."

Chicago suffered a bloody holiday weekend, with 100 people shot since Friday night, 18 fatally, officials said Tuesday.

In anticipation of the violence, CPD beefed up security measures throughout the city. Overall, 12,00 officials had days off canceled and worked 12-hour shifts in a strategy focusing on 15 violence-prone areas in the city, per WLS.

pics from story with 2 w pics

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/u-chicago-student-riding-train-after-leaving-summer-internship-is-killed-by-stray-bullet/ar-AALPUjm?ocid=msedgntp

U. Chicago Student Riding Train After Leaving Summer Internship Is Killed by Stray Bullet

A University of Chicago student died Sunday after being struck by a stray bullet while commuting home from his internship on a train.

On Thursday night, Max Solomon Lewis was struck in the back of the neck by a stray bullet while his Chicago Transit Authority train was stopped at the 51st Street/Washington Park station, according to a GoFundMe page organized by his friend, Zachary Cogan.

Lewis, a rising third-year student at the University of Chicago, was rushed to the hospital, where on Sunday morning he succumbed to his injuries.

"Max was an intelligent, caring, compassionate member of the UChicago community and a dear friend to many," Cogan writes on GoFundMe. "He is known amongst friends, peers, and classmates for his kindness, goofiness, grit, impeccable work ethic, and most importantly, his unfailingly genuine soul. He will be sorely missed."

Chicago police say Lewis was not the intended target of the shooting. Investigators have not released a description of the shooter, KMGH reports.

Before his death, Lewis was pursuing a double major in computer science and economics. According to Cogan, the 20-year-old was the former president of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. He grew up in Denver, Colo., and loved going on runs, leading the Promontory Investment Research— a registered student organization at the college— and hanging out with friends.

"There are no words to adequately characterize how devastating this loss is," Cogan writes. "Of all people in this world, Max was the last to deserve something like this."

Lewis's death came towards the end of the July 4th weekend, during which 100 people were shot in Chicago, 18 of them fatally, Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said, KMGH reports.

Another victim of the city's gun violence over the weekend was 19-year-old National Guard soldier Chrys Carvajal who was outside of a party on the city's Northwest Side early Saturday when an apparent drive-by shooter fired upon him.

In a GoFundMe post, Carvajal's sister, Jennifer Ramirez, wrote of her brother: "He was one of kind with a pure soul. Chrys was one to make people laugh and smile. He put his family first, and did everything he could to make us all proud. Chrys was full of life, with a bright future ahead of him."

https://www.promontoryir.com/the-team