Suspect charged in shooting that killed 4 sleeping people on CTA Blue Line train

FOREST PARK, Ill. (CBS) — A man was charged Tuesday afternoon in a mass shooting that left four people dead on a CTA Blue Line train in west suburban Forest Park the day before.

Rhanni Davis, 30, of Chicago, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder, according to Forest Park police.

All four victims were passengers on a Blue Line train as it was headed into the Forest Park terminal when they were shot shortly before 5:30 a.m.

Police said three victims were found dead at the scene. A fourth victim was taken to a local hospital, where they died. Officials had identified two of the victims as of Tuesday afternoon—Simeon Bihesi, a 28-year-old man, and Adrian Collins, a 60-year-old man.

Collins died of a gunshot wound to the abdomen, while Bihesi died of multiple gunshots.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office said one of the other two victims was a 52-year-old man and another was a 64-year-old woman.

CTA security and Forest Park Police found the suspected shooter using surveillance video. The suspect was located on a CTA Pink Line Train and taken into custody later Monday morning. A weapon was recovered.   

Police said the shooting appeared to be an isolated incident. 

Police said it did not appear the shooter knew any of the victims, who all appeared to be sleeping while riding the train. Police also said it did not appear that the shooter tried to rob the victims and that the attack was completely random.

Cameras on the trains captured everything that happened in the course of the mass shooting. CBS News Chicago is told the video is shocking, and it will be used as evidence.

“it’s unusual to have a multiple killing on a CTA train,” said CBS News Chicago Legal Analyst Irv Miller. “The CTA has more cameras—high-definition cameras—than any other place in the in the entire count, so somebody had to basically say, ‘I’m going to do this, and I don’t care if I get caught.”

Davis has been arrested several times since 2014—and he was sentenced to two years’ probation for a misdemeanor battery charge that year. He also pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in 2020.  

If Davis is convicted on four counts of first-degree murder, the only sentence that applies in Illinois is natural life in the penitentiary without parole. Miller explained that the question of mental state is really the only defense that applies in Davis’ case.

“There are defenses under the law, and one of the defenses that popped into my mind on a case like this is the defense of insanity. If that’s raised, it doesn’t make any difference if it’s on a videotape or not. The question is the person’s mental state—was this person able to appreciate the criminality of their conduct?” Miller said. “So when you when you shoot four people when they’re sleeping—and it’s caught on videotape—frankly, there’s not many defenses available to you.”

The mass shooting happened as CTA President Dorval Carter Jr. was already under fire—with calls for his resignation having made headlines back in May. Some Chicago alderpeople’s disdain for Carter has been renewed in light of the murders.

Meanwhile, the Forest Park Blue Line terminal has been an area of concern for law enforcement for some time. Forest Park village leadership says problems at the terminal go back years—and have only gotten worse.

A news conference with further information on the charges is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday.