Downsized Worker Shoots His CEO and Kills Himself

The Chicago Tribune reports that Chicago Police superintendent Garry McCarthy said DeFrances apparently “was despondent over the fact that he got demoted.” He also noted that the building had plenty of security, and that there was no reason to believe that DeFrances was dangerous when he entered the building this morning. McCarthy believes this was a personal thing.A shooting occurred in downtown Chicago this morning, when an executive at ArrowStream, Anthony DeFrances, upset that he’d been demoted, walked into his place of work and shot CEO Steven LaVoie after an argument. He then turned the gun on himself. The demotion came because the company was downsizing, and he wanted to talk to LaVoie one-on-one this morning.

According to NBC Chicago, McCarthy told reporters earlier today, “What we have here is a workplace violence issue. Apparently there’s a technological company on the 17th floor [of 231 S. LaSalle]. They’ve been undergoing a downsizing. They’ve demoted a number of people.”

NBC Chicago said that LaVoie founded Arrowstream, and DeFrances was the company’s chief technology officer. He’d been with ArrowStream virtually since it’s creation, according that report. Police are investigating this incident as a murder-suicide.

NBC Chicago also reported ArrowStream’s official statement on the matter, which said:

“We are deeply saddened and shocked by the events that have occurred today. Our focus during this tragedy is to ensure the well-being of our ArrowStream family. We want to assure our customers that our business continuity plan is in place, and our operations will continue to function normally.”

ABC News says that about ten other people were in the office at the time, but nobody else was injured or killed in the incident.

DeFrances is dead, and Lavoie is in critical condition at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, with gunshot wounds to his stomach and his head. What kind of world is it where the anger, disappointment, sadness, and desperation that come from a demotion lead to this kind of tragedy?

Here’s the video with a report from CBS.

Somehow I don't think this is what the NRA wants!