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‘Disgruntled ex-employee’ shoots and kills 2 workers at Chicago’s Navy Pier, cops say

Two employees at Chicago’s Navy Pier were shot and killed by a “disgruntled ex-employee,” police said.
Two employees at Chicago’s Navy Pier were shot and killed by a “disgruntled ex-employee,” police said. Photo by Getty Images/iStockphoto

A former employee walked onto a loading dock at a popular tourist destination in Chicago and shot two of his former co-workers, police said.

Frantic tourists visiting Navy Pier and those working in its offices were forced to shelter in place as officers searched for the person accused of firing shots, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

In the afternoon of Nov. 5, a “disgruntled ex-employee” shot two employees in an office on the dock, Chicago Police Chief of Patrol Jon Hein said in a news conference.

Both men were taken to the hospital, where they died from their injuries, Hein said. One victim was identified as 51-year-old Lamont Johnson, according to the Sun-Times.

Officials said the incident was isolated and the those at the pier were not in danger. The shooting did not occur in a public space, according to Navy Pier Chief Operations Officer Brian Murphy.

The pier’s 70 tenants were immediately put on lockdown, Murphy said.

The accused shooter was fired on Oct. 14 from a Navy Pier subcontractor, Murphy said. He chose to not name the subcontractor where the shooting occurred.

Police said they had identified the suspect, who remains at large, and they hope to have him in custody “very shortly.”

Navy Pier is a tourist attraction known for its sky-high ferris wheel along Lake Michigan.

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This story was originally published November 6, 2024 at 10:27 AM with the headline "‘Disgruntled ex-employee’ shoots and kills 2 workers at Chicago’s Navy Pier, cops say."

Kate Linderman
mcclatchy-newsroom
Kate Linderman covers national news for McClatchy’s real-time team. She reports on politics and crime and courts news in the Midwest. Kate is a 2023 graduate of DePaul University and is based in Chicago.
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