Rifle Spotted, ‘Tragedy’ Averted By Staff At Lakefront Hotel

CHICAGO — Police credited an alert hotel staffer with preventing a potential 4th of July "tragedy" after he discovered firearms and ammunition in one of the rooms.

Keegan Casteel, 32, of Ankeny, Iowa, was arrested Sunday and charged with two counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon after police were told he had a rifle in his room around 6 p.m. at the W Hotel-Lakeshore, 644 North Lake Shore Drive.

"We had reports from an employee of the hotel of a rifle and handgun in a very suspicious position inside one of the rooms," Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown told reporters Tuesday.

In addition to a bolt-action rifle with a high-powered scope, Brown said officers found a semi-automatic pistol along with five ammunition magazines on a window sill of the lakefront hotel room.

"Obviously, [it's] very concerning, given the position of the W Hotel to Navy Pier," Brown said.

Casteel operates an auto repair shop in Des Moines, according to business records in Iowa. The superintendent said he had no significant criminal record.

Police also questioned a person who was with Casteel at the time, who has not been charged. Casteel is due to appear before a judge for a bond hearing Tuesday afternoon.

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It's not the first time a hotel incident has caused fears in Chicago. Months before the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, the gunman who targeted a Las Vegas concert on Oct. 1, 2017, had rented a room at the Blackstone Hotel on Michigan Avenue overlooking Grant Park during the Lollapalooza music festival, authorities said.

The man never showed up, but the reservation led authorities to believe Chicago may have been the shooter's original target. It prompted beefed up security at subsequent editions of Lollapalooza.

The July 4 weekend was the deadliest of the year so far in Chicago, with 100 people shot, 18 fatally, in the course of 69 shootings from 6 p.m. Friday to just before midnight Monday.

The police superintendent said 244 guns were taken off the street during the weekend.

While Casteel's motives have yet to be established, Brown said the hotel cleaning staff's discovery of his guns was especially valuable considering that the coronavirus pandemic has made room service rarer than ever.

"We're still within COVID restrictions somewhat, and this employee saw something by entering the room to room to clean it that likely prevented a tragedy from happening," Brown said. "So it's significant and very valuable."