CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Mayor Lori Lightfoot is giving credit to a downtown hotel housekeeper who may have prevented a tragedy this weekend, after finding a semi-automatic rifle, another gun, and lots of ammo in a guest’s room Sunday.
The member of the W Hotel cleaning staff reportedly found the semi-automatic rifle, a pistol, and ammunition in a guest room; and Mayor Lightfoot believes a disaster may have been averted. Police said the weapons were placed on a windowsill in the room.
"I want to thank the hotel worker who spotted this individual from Iowa, who decided it was a good idea to come to our city with an arsenal, an AR-15, and five loaded magazines that he had perched up on the windowsill," Lightfoot said.
That window overlooked the often crowded lakefront.
Police arrested 32-year-old Keegan Casteel, of Ankeny, Iowa; and he was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, but he was released on bond and allowed to travel back to his home state. He reportedly has no prior felonies and is allowed to have the gun in Iowa.
Mayor Lightfoot said the Joint Terrorism Task Force has questioned him and he’s on the FBI’s Radar Screen. She said the authorities need to know who he is.
"This isn't a firearm for personal protection. What he had was weapons of war. Five loaded magazines? That's not, I'm going to the city and I want to take my weapon. That's something more nefarious," Lightfoot said.
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