Demetris Shorter, a 35-year-old man from Davenport, Iowa, surrendered to Chicago police to face charges in connection with a shooting that resulted in the death of one woman and the injury of another in a River North hotel last month. Shorter was ordered detained by Judge Ankur Srivastava during a weekend hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse.
According to prosecutors, Shorter and the woman who died, 32-year-old Kenliada Porter, checked into the hotel in the 300 block of West Grand on February 21. The following evening, around 8 p.m., gunshots were heard on the 30th floor where the couple was staying.
Shorter reportedly left the hotel through a side door, returned a few minutes later to get another key from the front desk, and then went back to the lobby. It was there that he allegedly shot a 28-year-old female security guard in the neck after a brief encounter. Witnesses stated that the gunman fled in an SUV.
Initially responding to calls about the security guard being shot, investigators later found Porter in the hotel room during a search. Despite officers administering CPR and applying a chest seal in an attempt to save her, Porter passed away that night at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Detectives located Shorter’s rental car the day after the shooting, where they found his wallet, a handgun, and shell casings matching those found in the River North hotel room.
Online news reports indicate that Shorter had previously been charged with robbing a pizza delivery driver at gunpoint in Iowa back in 2010.
CWBChicago, a public safety reporting platform established in 2013 by residents of Wrigleyville and Boystown, aims to provide accurate and detailed information on local incidents. The coverage area has since expanded to include Lincoln Park, River North, The Loop, Uptown, and other North Side areas, while the mission remains focused on delivering original reporting with better context than mainstream media outlets. For more information, you can reach out to CWBChicago’s editorial team at news@cwbchicago.com.
