Man in wheelchair held on $1M bail in River West gym shooting

SHARE Man in wheelchair held on $1M bail in River West gym shooting
screen_shot_2016_03_04_at_2_00_32_am.png

Reggie Daniel | Chicago Police photo

A paraplegic man who uses a wheelchair was ordered held on $1 million bail Friday after he was charged with fatally shooting a man inside a River West apartment building’s gym Wednesday night.

Reggie Daniel, 48, faces one count of first-degree murder after police say he shot Darrin Joss, 45, as Joss was using a stationary bike in the eighth-floor gym, filled with people at 555 W. Kinzie shortly after 7 p.m. Wednesday.

The two men lived in the same building, knew each other and had been arguing, authorities said.

Daniel turned himself in to authorities Thursday. Daniel, a father of two,  has been in a wheelchair since 1986, his public defender said at his bond hearing.

At some point Wednesday night, after the argument, Daniel left the eighth floor while Joss went into the gym, Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Marilyn Salas-Wail said.

But then Daniel returned, wheeled himself into the fitness center, pulled out a gun and shot Joss in the head and chest, Salas-Wail said.

Joss fell to the ground, and Daniels fled the building, Salas-Wail said.

Several witnesses identified Daniel as Joss’ shooter, and he was captured on surveillance video entering the gym and shooting Joss, Salas-Wail said.

Joss was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead less than an hour later, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The victim’s father, Kenneth Joss, said Friday that his son’s passing is “still a big shock.”

“He was a good kid – give you the shirt off his back,” said Joss, who lives in Iowa, where his son grew up.

Darrin Joss, who worked in finance, had been living in Chicago since he graduated from the University of Iowa, his father said.

After the shooting, Alexa Regiman, who lives in the building, told reporters she was working out while listening to music when she felt the ground shake.

“The second time, I was like ‘Something’s not right’,” she said. After she felt the thuds, she looked to her left and saw a man — who had been using a treadmill — lying on the ground covered in blood.

The shooter was a man in a wheelchair whom she had seen in the building before, she said.

“I just moved here,” she said. “I’m still thinking this is a safe area, but the fact that it happened right behind me . . . what if that were me?”

The Latest
Busch found an unconventional way to score in the Cubs’ loss to the Rangers.
The acquisition of Tamarack Farms makes Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge a more impactful destination and creates within Hackmatack a major macrosite for conservation.
The man was found unresponsive in an alley in the 10700 block of South Lowe Avenue, police said.
The man suffered head trauma and was pronounced dead at University of Chicago Medical Center, police said.
Another federal judge in Chicago who also has dismissed gun cases based on the same Supreme Court ruling says the high court’s decision in what’s known as the Bruen case will “inevitably lead to more gun violence, more dead citizens and more devastated communities.”