Demoted Executive Shoots CEO, Kills Self In Chicago High Rise

A demoted executive shot a CEO and killed himself at a high rise building in Chicago Thursday. The executive, 59, died at the scene from a gunshot wound to the head, while the CEO was wounded in the head and stomach. He was transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and listed in critical condition.

The executive’s name has not been released by authorities, according to the Chicago Tribune. He was told last Friday that he was being demoted as the company, ArrowStream, was downsized, according to Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy.

He asked for a one-on-one meeting with ArrowStream CEO Steven LaVoie Thursday morning and workers heard shots from the 17th floor office around 9:55 am. The executive was found dead at the scene while LaVioe was wheeled out of the building on a stretcher.

McCarthy stated of the gunman, “Apparently he was despondent over the fact that he got demoted. It’s a workplace violence issue.” He added that there was “plenty of security in the building” and the gunman was a longtime employee. He added, “[The gunman came] in with a backpack like an employee normally does… This is a personal thing.”

LaVoie founded ArrowStream in 2000, but the company had been downsizing in recent months, forcing them to demoting several people.

ABC News notes that about 10 people were in the office at the time the demoted executive shot the CEO. The office is located in the Bank of America building, two blocks from Willis Tower and a block from the Chicago Board of Trade and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Officers were called to the scene of the shooting and cordoned off the immediate area. Several SWAT team members and other officers rushed inside to secure the scene, where they discovered two men shot and laying on the floor. Workers elsewhere in the building reported receiving warnings from building security to remain at their desks because of a security situation in the lobby.

Stefano Freddo, who works on the building’s 10th floor, recalled, “It was a tense atmosphere, everybody was walking around, you wanted more details but they wouldn’t give us much.” Eventually someone came over the intercom to tell workers it was safe to leave their offices.

While security officers are stationed in the building and workers need a badge to access the lobby elevators, there are no metal detectors in the building. Freddo commented, “Maybe we should have those.”

The CEO shot by the demoted executive is married with three daughters.

[Image via Chicago Tribune]