Accidental gunshot tips Arlington Heights police to suspected gun runner

A 24-year-old Arlington Heights man faces a felony gunrunning charge alleging he was selling guns without a license, police said Monday.

Police said they discovered an illegal gun selling operation after suspect Andre N. Ritual, of the 500 block of Circle Hill Drive, accidentally fired a semiautomatic pistol inside his apartment, sending a bullet into a neighbor’s residence.

Ritual sold about 20 guns online, though claimed he did not make money off his actions, according to police. In six cases he did not check whether buyers had Illinois Firearm Owner’s identification Cards and did not keep required records, said Arlington Heights police Sgt. Rick Cappelman.

Officers have obtained subpoenas in an attempt to learn the identities of those buyers, police said.

Ritual did not have a federal license to sell guns, which is required when selling three or more firearms.

“He says he wasn’t making a profit,” said Cappelman. “He liked to be known as somebody who could hook people up with firearms.”

Police got involved when a neighbor called 911 early Friday reporting that she found a bullet hole in the door to her apartment. She said she had heard a loud noise the previous night as if something heavy had fallen on the floor.

Officers determined the round had come from Ritual’s apartment across the hall.

Police said Ritual told officers the gun accidentally fired, sending a bullet through the wall of his bathroom, as he was cleaning or reassembling it in a spare bedroom. The bullet crossed the hallway, entered the other apartment through the front door then struck a toolbox and small steel garbage can before ricocheting into the entryway or living room, according to police.

Ritual purchased the guns over the last two months from the East Dundee gun store where he worked, said Cappelman. Most were handguns, though there were some rifles, police said.

Ritual was released after posting 10 percent of a $10,000 bond.