Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx on Sept. 3, 2024, speaks to reporters at the Forest Park Village Hall over the shooting death of four people on a CTA Blue Line train in Forest Park, Ill. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere / Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
A 30-year-old Chicago man has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder following a fatal Labor Day shooting on a CTA Blue Line train in suburban Forest Park.
At a bond hearing Wednesday, Rhanni Davis was ordered detained pending trial. No motive was given in the attack that left four passengers dead.
“The question of why may never be answered," Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx said at a news conference Tuesday. She called the shootings a “horrific, heinous and inexplicable act of violence.”
Prosecutors said Davis was captured on surveillance footage boarding a CTA Red Line train about 3:50 a.m. Monday, wearing flip flops, white socks, green pants and a black T-shirt; he carried a black bag with a North Face logo on it. Around 4:30 a.m., he transferred to a Blue Line train headed toward Forest Park.
Roughly 30 minutes later, a CTA camera captured Davis — in the same clothes, but now wearing a mask — in the same train car as three people who were sleeping, prosecutors said.
Davis is accused of walking up to a 52-year-old man, who has yet to be identified, and shooting him in the head and torso. Prosecutors allege Davis then approached 28-year-old Simeon Bihesi and shot him in the face and arm/hand area, before walking up to 64-year-old Margaret Johnson and shooting her in the back of the head. All three were later found dead.
Prosecutors allege Davis then moved to the next train car, where he found 60-year-old Adrian Collins. Davis is accused of shooting Collins in the abdomen as Collins raised his hands in a defensive posture. Train personnel found Collins alive, but he later died of his injuries at Loyola University Medical Center.
Authorities recovered 9mm shell casings on the train.
According to prosecutors, after the shooting Davis exited the train at the Harlem stop before returning to the Blue Line 15 minutes later and boarding a different train. After Davis’ description was released to CTA personnel, a CTA employee reported seeing him on a Pink Line train. Police arrested Davis about 7 a.m. Prosecutors said he was wearing the same clothing and carrying the North Face bag; he had a handgun and 9mm ammunition with him.
Testing from Illinois State Police confirmed the shell casings on the scene were fired from the handgun Davis was carrying, prosecutors said. His hands also tested positive for gunshot residue.
CTA President Dorval Carter on Tuesday called the shooting “a very random, isolated incident.”
Public records did not have a listed phone number for Davis. Messages sent to a listed email were not returned. The Cook County Public Defender’s Office didn’t immediately respond to a message Wednesday.
Davis is next slated to appear in court Sept. 27 in suburban Maywood.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Note: This story has been updated with new information from the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
