Woman shot and killed, man found dead in suspected murder-suicide at historic Warwick Allerton Hotel
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A woman was found shot in the head at the Warwick Allerton Hotel on the Magnificent Mile and later died, and a man was also found dead a floor away.
Police say it was a murder-suicide.
At 4:54 p.m., the woman was found in the hotel at 140 E. Huron St., at the northeast corner of the intersection with Michigan Avenue. Police dispatch reports indicated the woman was found on the 17th floor, and three bullet holes were found in the hallway.
The woman was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition. She was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
Meanwhile, a man was found dead on the 18th floor. He also died of a gunshot wound and the Fire Department said his death was a suicide.
The sound of the gunfire woke up hotel guest Beni Rincon next door.
"I just assumed that someone was, you know, screwing around – slamming doors or something – and then a few minutes later, I heard hotel security outside the room, and so then, I step outside, and then I saw the shooting victim right outside my door," he said.
CBS 2's Meredith Barack reported a heavy police presence remained at the scene as of 6 p.m., and many hotel guests gathered outside.
The guests said they did not hear anything when the shooting happened, and the hotel had not alerted them to what happened.
The Allerton Hotel was completed in 1924 and was designated a Chicago landmark in 1998. The sign at the top of the hotel above Huron Street still advertises the Tip Top Tap – a lounge on that operated on the top floor in the midcentury era.
"Few buildings recall the jazz era of the 1920s and 30s--and the changes that were taking place with architecture and urban development in Chicago during this dynamic period--better than the Allerton Hotel. Built as a monumental brick tower, the Allerton is a rare example of North Italian Renaissance architecture, characterized by dark red brick walls, round-arched windows and arcades, and visually sculptural rooftop," reads a city landmark designation report. "Moreover, the Allerton was the first building in Chicago to be built with a pronounced setback and towers, introducing an innovative architectural form that was repeated in Chicago skyscrapers over the ensuing decade."