CTA Blue Line shooting suspect Rhanni Davis refused to release after 4 people died on Forest Park train; Simeon Bihesi among victims

MAYWOOD, Ill. (WLS) — A 30-year-old Chicago man accused of fatally shooting several sleeping CTA Blue Line passengers earlier this week was denied parole during his first court appearance Wednesday.

Rhanni S. Davis appeared in Maywood court Wednesday afternoon, where a judge said, “The facts presented by the state are absolutely horrific and abhorrent.”

ABC7 Chicago is now available to watch 24/7. Click here to watch

She called the shooting “execution-style.”

Family members of one of the victims were present.

Assistant State’s Attorney Eugene Wood said: “The family is understandably distraught.”

Davis, who has home safety and care training and recently worked at a Taco Bell restaurant in Chicago, was charged with first-degree murder in connection with the incident.

Cameras were not allowed in the courtroom, but Davis was surrounded by at least 12 officers.

Davis’s public defender said the man was in no mood to talk Wednesday.

Forest Park Mayor Rory Hoskins said the three victims were sleeping when they were shot Monday morning.

The four adult victims were three men and one woman, police said. Three of the victims were found shot to death in one carriage of the train and one in another. Police said the victims were not robbed.

The Cook County Coroner’s Office identified three victims Tuesday.

Adrian Collins, 60, was shot in the stomach.

Wood described the confrontation between Collins and the attacker.

“The defendant positioned himself in front of the victim, Collins, who had her hands up in a defensive stance when the defendant fired a shot into the torso of victim Collins,” Wood said.

SEE ALSO | Illinois law banning concealed carry on public transportation ruled unconstitutional

Simeon Bihesi, 29, was shot multiple times. His father described him as selfless.

“My son was a very good person. He was a very good child, very obedient, very helpful,” said Leonard Nyamusevya. “He really wanted to help people.”

Before his death, Bihesi was a corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps and served from 2016 to 2022. But his father from Ohio said his son became homeless due to depression.

“I was planning to pick him up from Chicago, bring him back to Columbus and get his affairs in order,” he said.

Margaret Miller Johnson, 64, of Des Plaines, was shot in the head.

All three deaths are being classified as homicides. Forest Park police said they are still trying to contact next of kin of the fourth victim, a 52-year-old man.

CTA workers discovered the horrifying sight around 5:30 a.m. Monday, just after an incoming train reached its terminus.

Hoskins said the shooting likely occurred closer to the Harlem Blue Line station.

Prosecutors said Davis’ first three victims, 52-year-old Bihesi and Johnson, were shot in the same train car. All were shot in the head or face and pronounced dead at the scene.

Collins was shot in the next car and taken to Loyola Hospital, where he died.

The footage shows a witness running away from a moving train as it enters Harlem Station.

A few seconds later we see Davis calmly walking along the platform after exiting the train.

Davis, who still had the gun on him, was arrested 90 minutes later at a California CTA Pink Line station.

Police said new CTA surveillance footage shows Davis wearing a black shirt and green pants leaving the Harlem Blue Line stop after fleeing the shooting.

Prosecutors say he was wearing the same clothes and mask when he shot the victims with a 9mm gun.

Court documents say Davis got off the train and re-boarded 15 minutes later, traveling toward the Loop and boarding the Pink Line, where the train engineer spotted the suspect and notified police.

“He had a handgun and 9mm ammunition in a North Face bag,” Wood said. “A south suburban police officer who knew the defendant also identified him from the CTA footage.”

Officers found five shell casings on the Blue Line.

State authorities said Davis’s hands were tested and found to contain traces of gunpowder.

The train driver who notified the police hopes the action will bring a sense of security to the community and provide some closure.

There are still many questions surrounding the shooting, including a possible motive.

At a Tuesday evening news conference, Cook County District Attorney Kim Foxx said, “It’s safe to say this was a random attack.”

Forest Park police said this was their first contact with the suspect, but added he has a history of gun-related crimes in Chicago.

Davis’ next hearing will be September 27.