Forest Park Blue Line shooting: What we know about suspect Rhanni Davis' criminal history

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The I-Team has uncovered more information about the person accused in a shooting on a CTA Blue Line train that killed four sleeping passengers Monday, including red flags in their past.

Forest Park police announced the arrest of 30-year-old Rhanni Davis on Tuesday, and at a news conference, said Davis has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder.

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Police and court records show Davis has a criminal history, and over the years, has gone by several different spellings of their name.

In 2013, court records show Davis filed a petition to change their birth name from James Wesley D McDavis, III, to Rhianni J. Davis.

The ABC 7 I-Team found state regulatory records showing a person with that same name -- Rhianni Davis - as well as the same date-of-birth and residing zip-code was officially licensed by the state of Illinois as a private security guard.

On Wednesday, Forest Park Police Detective Lt. Dan Pater told the I-Team "it appears" that the licensed individual is the same person who was arrested for Monday's CTA shooting, but that investigators have yet to verify these details with the state.

Pater said Davis did not have a valid firearms permit or Firearm Owners Identification card, or a valid concealed carry license at the time of the shooting, and that the investigation remains ongoing.

In addition to the private security guard license, known in Illinois as a Permanent Employee Registration Card (PERC), this individual also had a Firearm Control Card and Firearms Instructor Card.

State officials told the I-Team those cards authorize a licensed security guard to carry a firearm while working, and indicate the license holder has been trained by a firearms instructor.

Previously, the I-Team had reported that a Firearms Instructor Card authorizes a license holder to train other licensees. However, on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation - the state agency tasked with professional licensing - issued a correction to what the agency had provided to the I-Team on Tuesday, stating this only means the license holder has been trained by an instructor.

State officials tell the I-Team those cards authorize a licensed security guard to carry a firearm while working, as well as authorize the individual to train other state licensees on handling firearms.

A person with the name, Rhianni J. Davis of Chicago, also has a Linked-In profile listing employment with several private security firms.

Those listed firms have not responded to the ABC 7 I-Team's inquiries regarding Davis' possible employment.

Court records show Davis filed for bankruptcy in 2018, where "security" was listed as their current employment, with a firm out of Pennsylvania. That firm has not responded to the I-Team's questions.

Forest Park police have not confirmed whether the licensed individual is the suspect arrested for Monday's CTA shooting.

The accused CTA shooter's criminal history begins in 2014, when Chicago police arrested the then 20-year-old Davis and charged them with misdemeanor battery using their birth name: James McDavis.

That case ended with a guilty plea and was the beginning of a series of criminal, gun and traffic charges and arrests, many of which ended with the cases dismissed.

Davis was also arrested with a loaded gun at a public transit station in the past.

The I-Team obtained records revealing METRA commuter rail police arrested Davis in 2019 with 9mm Taurus semi-automatic handgun, with one 9mm Luger hollow point bullet in the chamber and seven in the magazine. That case was dropped by Cook County prosecutors, court records show.

There was another gun arrest in 2021, also for a 9mm, when the weapon was found by Chicago police following a traffic accident. Again, the case was dropped by prosecutors.

The cases may have been dropped because Davis had a legal Illinois FOID card, according to CPD records.

And in the decade since the first arrest, even while Davis had multiple arrests, there was only one misdemeanor conviction connected to a looting incident.

Authorities now claim Davis roamed between two CTA train cars early Monday morning when he shot and killed four sleeping passengers.

Davis' first court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday at noon.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with new information.