CHICAGO (Wales) — Two people were shot and killed at Navy Pier Tuesday afternoon, Chicago fire officials said.

Chicago police and fire crews responded around 1:30 p.m. to a report of shots fired at the administrative office near the loading dock in the 600 block of East Grand Boulevard, police said at a news conference Tuesday.

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Police said a male Levy employee, who had been terminated a month earlier, fired the shot.

“As a former employer of the subcontractor, he had access. He knew how to get to that rear loading dock area,” said Brian Murphy, Navy Pier’s operations manager.

A 47-year-old man and a 51-year-old man, former co-workers of the employee, were shot in the head, police said. They were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition. They later died, police said.

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Their identities were not immediately released.

Navy Pier remained locked down for about an hour, but officials said the afternoon incident at the popular tourist destination was isolated.

“We had to lock down the entire store, the entire Navy Pier. Everybody was closing. We had customers coming from behind,” said Navy Pier employee Diamond Foster.

Police identified a person of interest in the incident.

A shelter at Navy Pier was removed after police determined from security cameras that the shooter had left the area.

“They’re talking about, ‘OK, everybody calm down, but this is a minor threat,'” said Navy Pier visitor William Wright. “Everyone actually starts out as a minor threat. This is supposed to be Navy Pier.”

Police did not say who they were looking for, only that the gunman was a former employee of a subcontractor at Navy Pier.

There was a major Chicago police response on the north side of the pier, near the parking lot. CPD officers in tactical gear were seen in the area around 2 p.m.

“We took out automatic weapons, full SWAT gear, shields, all the work,” Ohio resident Trent Halasek said.

District detectives are investigating.

No weapon was found and police remained at the scene until around 5 p.m.

Levy made a statement and said: “We are absolutely devastated by today’s tragic events and the shocking loss of two of our family members. Our hearts break for the families and loved ones whose lives have been changed forever.”

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