1 of 2 | Raylon East, 36, has been charged with first-degree murder in the fatal shootings of two men this week at Chicago’s popular Navy Pier tourist attraction, police announced Saturday. Photo courtesy Chicago Police Department
Nov. 9 (UPI) — Chicago police on Saturday announced they have arrested and charged a fired employee with shooting deaths of two former co-workers at the city’s popular Navy Pier tourist attraction earlier this week.
Raylon East, 36, was arrested Thursday at a location on the city’s South Side, jailed and charged with two counts of first-degree murder, authorities said in a release.
East was also charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a weapon.
His arrest came two days after 47-year-old Peter Jennings and 52-year-old Lamont Johnson were shot dead at Navy Pier, a popular destination that attracts millions yearly with an iconic Ferris wheel, restaurants, theaters, parks and more along a pier extending far out into Lake Michigan.
Police on Wednesday described the shooter, now identified as East, as a “disgruntled employee” who killed the men in the administrative offices of Levy Restaurants on Navy Pier’s loading dock. Chicago Deputy Police Chief Jon Hein told reporters authorities had identified a person of in connection with the killings.
East made a pretrial appearance in Cook County Criminal Court on Saturday during which he was denied bail, WGN-TV reported.
At the hearing, prosecutors alleged they had video evidence of East shooting the two men in the head while they sat at their desks. They claimed he had been fired last month for acting aggressively toward fellow employees.
Authorities also testified they retrieved a gun thought to be the murder weapon after East was seen throwing it into Lake Michigan.
Navy Pier was temporarily closed and a shelter-in-place order issued in the aftermath of the violence.