Cook County Judge Detains Rayvon Savary Following Shooting Incident on Chicago’s Red Line in Loop

CHICAGO (WLS) — The man accused of firing bullets upward through a CTA subway grate downtown Chicago earlier this week is being held, pending trial.

Before 9 a.m. on Memorial Day, gunshots unexpectedly emerged, according to police reports, filling the streets with unexpected danger. The investigators revealed that the gunfire originated from subway air shafts below ground.

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Cook County prosecutors said in court that gunman fired because he said he wanted people to know he was armed.

Within the confines of the Red Line’s tunnels in the heart of Chicago’s Loop, authorities stated that Rayvon Savary, aged 24, entered a vent shaft beside the Red Line tracks and retrieved a firearm.

As he did so, two pedestrians were crossing the metal grates outside a Chick-fil-A, investigators said, just as bullets pierced through the openings narrowly missing them. The scent of gunpowder wafted over the State and Lake Street walkway while Chicago police officers rushed to the scene. At that moment, prosecutors reported that officers heard a voice emanating from below the ground.

Investigators rushed down the stairs to the tunnel, and, as they arrived, prosecutors told a Cook County judge Wednesday afternoon, they heard what sounded like the defendant racking the slide of a gun. Immediately, prosecutors said, officers took a tactical position in the tunnel.

As some officers negotiated with who prosecutors said was an armed Savary, others shut down power to the Red Line tracks. When Savary emerged, prosecutors say police removed a 9 mm handgun from his hip with a bullet still lodged in the chamber, two spent bullets nearby and a live bullet in Savary’s breast pocket.

Prosecutors say CTA surveillance video shows how Savary scrambled south on the catwalk of the subway, across the train tracks and into the vent shafts: all areas off-limits to the public.

Now what investigators are trying to figure out is why.

Wednesday afternoon, a Cook County judg ordered Savary detained on felony weapons charges.

The CTA sent a statement to the I-Team, saying “The CTA is always looking for ways to enhance safety, especially as it relates to our rail system’s 224 miles of track and infrastructure. We are currently developing multiple pilots for various technologies to be deployed at multiple CTA locations that can help alert our 24/7 Operations Control Center to possible right of way intrusions – allowing for the prompt removal of power and requesting of emergency assistance as needed.

“The technologies being tested are intended to be used not only in subways, but also on elevated and at-grade stations. These pilots are being developed through the new CTA Innovation Studio, which was created to expedite the process of soliciting private sector proposals and pilot new, state-of-the-art solutions to help solve issues facing all aspects of our agency and our riders.”