U.S. Attorney’s Office Charges Man With Illegally Possessing Loaded Firearm Outside Federal Building in Downtown Chicago

CHICAGO - The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois today charged a man with illegally possessing a loaded firearm outside the Kluczynski Federal Building in downtown Chicago earlier this week.

EDMUND J. HORVATH possessed a loaded handgun shortly after 4:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning on a vehicle ramp leading toward an interior garage entrance to the Kluczynski Building, which is located at 230 S. Dearborn St. in Chicago's downtown Loop neighborhood, according to a criminal complaint filed today in U.S. District Court in Chicago. A federal security officer approached Horvath through the window of the garage door and requested that he leave the area, the complaint states. The security officer subsequently heard gun shots and saw flashes, the complaint states. Chicago Police officers were dispatched to the scene and arrested Horvath on the ramp.

The discharged rounds of ammunition caused both interior and exterior damage to the Kluczynski Building as well as to surrounding infrastructure.

The complaint charges Horvath, 36, of Lynwood, Ill., with illegal possession of a firearm by an individual previously convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence. Horvath was scheduled to make an initial appearance in federal court in Chicago today at 3:30 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeannice W. Appenteng.

The complaint was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; Samuel J. Bell, Regional Director of Region 5 of the Federal Protective Service; and Fred Waller, Interim Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Regina Jeon.

The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.